There’s nothing new under the sun, the saying goes. And that’s absolutely true in business. Revolutionary ideas are often old concepts made new again. It’s why the 1990s are making a comeback.
A smart entrepreneur might look back in time and realize that we fixed something that wasn’t broken. How about the family doctor. Time was, you had a personal relationship with your local physician: they knew more about you than the prescriptions on your chart. Today, a trip to the doctor’s office can make you feel like meat on a conveyor belt.
But a new approach is catching on. And, yes, it’s an old idea. Dr. Dee Dee Luke is a physician affiliated with MDVIP – a membership based medical service that gives doctors space to treat the whole patient.
Dr. Deedee Luke – fewer patients, longer consults, better healthcare
Dr. Luke’s patients work on wellness plans that set out goals that emphasize good health. Dee Dee has practiced family medicine in Lafayette for over twenty years, but switched the MDVIP model in 2016. It slimmed down her patient list from 3,000 to 600. And from Dr. Luke’s perspective it has given her the chance to practice medicine the way it should.
Wellness for people is one thing. How about wellness for the planet?
Recycling is another way to make something new of something old. Taylor Lyons Vaughn has a novel way of doing that: worms.
Worm farmer Taylor Lyons Vaughn – the magic of worm farming turns toilet rolls into money
Taylor’s vermicompost facility, The Worm Lady Recycles puts hundreds of thousands of worms to work turning your old banana peels, coffee grinds, toilet paper rolls and other compostables into fertilizer. In the worm business they call that castings.
European Red Wrigglers make really good soil and — apparently — a very good cup of tea!
Taylor’s worms recycle anywhere from 200 to 300 pounds of waste each week. Taylor collects all that refuse from five drop off locations around Lafayette and from some partner businesses: Spa Mizan, PJ’s Coffee in Broussard and Hub City Diner.
Taylor is passionate about vermiculture and opens the facility to tours for kids. She’ll even sell you your own starter kit of European Red Wrigglers.
Deedee Luke, Taylor Lyons Vaughn, Christiaan Mader, Out to Lunch at Tula Tacos
Out to Lunch Acadiana is recorded live over lunch at Tula Tacos and Amigos in downtown Lafayette.
Photos by Astor Morgan.
You can check out other pioneering healthcare options in Acadiana at itsacadiana.com.
