About Golden Gate Hand Therapy

When Melanie Jonkey's front office manager announced she was moving away, it triggered the kind of operational crisis that keeps small practice owners up at night. Golden Gate Hand Therapy had thrived for 15 years across San Francisco, but the math on replacing a skilled admin simply wasn't working anymore.

Candidates ghosted interviews, the ones who showed up came with salary expectations that would crush already thin margins, and the complexity of Melanie's operation made training someone new a months long undertaking. Three locations, different insurance panels at each, and ascheduling puzzle that required real expertise to solve.

Meanwhile, every unanswered call meant a patient booking somewhere else.

The Breaking Point

The front office challenges weren't just about finding warm bodies to answer phones. Melanie noticed a pattern in her missed calls: patients were reaching out after hours, during lunch breaks, after putting kids to bed. The exact moments when they finally had time to schedule an appointment, nobody was there to help them.

Voicemails piled up, phone tag stretched across days, new patient inquiries slipped through the cracks.

For a private practitioner watching reimbursements shrink and overhead climb, the traditional solution of hiring full time admin support was becoming, in Melanie's words, "more and more unattainable."

A Skeptic Takes a Chance

Melanie was introduced to Solum Health and their AI scheduling platform by Juan Pablo Montoya. The timing was serendipitous, she needed a solution, and AI scheduling sounded promising given her situation. Still, she approached it with healthy skepticism.

"I was a little skeptical of AI and thought, how can it really replace a real person?" Melanie recalls. But facing the reality of her hiring challenges and tightening margins, she decided to take the leap.

The Solution

The implementation process was thorough and hands-on. Solum's team walked Melanie through every aspect of her practice: how patients were scheduled, which insurances each of her three locations accepted, and the nuances of her workflow. Together, they developed and fine-tuned a script to ensure patient calls felt natural and user-friendly.

The complexity didn't stop there. During this same period, Melanie made two major transitions: relocating her practice after 15 years and switching her current EMR system to a new one. Either change alone would challenge most billing and scheduling systems, but Solum rose to the occasion.

"Solum got right involved and went right to town to figure out this very new, completely different system," Melanie says. The team worked through the quirks of the new EMR, built entirely new scheduling templates, and ensured the transition was seamless despite the upheaval.

The Results

The impact was immediate and tangible. Voicemails? Gone. Phone tag? Eliminated. Every call is now captured by the AI system, and Melanie discovered something she hadn't fully appreciated before: a significant number of patients prefer to schedule outside traditional office hours. Those calls, which previously went to voicemail (and often led to missed appointments), are now converted into bookings.

But the most telling measure of success isn't a metric, it's cupcakes.

"One of my patients brought cupcakes for AI Annie, not realizing it was AI Annie," Melanie laughs. "She brought cupcakes because Annie was so pleasant and nice."

Patient feedback has been consistently positive, with many expressing surprise at how natural and helpful the AI scheduling experience feels. Melanie regularly hears that it's one of the best AI scheduling systems patients have encountered.

"I've never had to take a voicemail. That has gone away, which is really a lovely thing, and not playing phone tag." — Melanie Johnke, Owner

And the bottom line? The cost savings are substantial. Solum's AI scheduling is significantly less expensive than a full-time front desk employee, making it not just a technological upgrade, but a financial lifeline for a small practice navigating today's healthcare economics.

Looking Ahead

For Melanie, what began as a skeptical experiment has become an integral part of how Golden Gate Hand Therapy operates. Having successfully navigated a practice relocation, an EMR transition, and the shift to AI scheduling all within a short window, she's more confident than ever in the partnership.

As margins continue to tighten across healthcare, she sees AI-powered solutions like Solum as essential for independent practitioners who want to thrive, not just survive.

Key Takeaways

• AI skepticism is natural, results convert believers. Melanie's initial hesitation gave way to enthusiasm once she experienced the quality of patient interactions and operational relief firsthand.
• After-hours scheduling is a hidden opportunity. Many patients prefer booking outside 9-5; capturing those calls means capturing appointments that would otherwise be lost.
• The right partner handles complexity. Managing three locations with different insurance panels, switching EMRs, and relocating a practice simultaneously requires a vendor who can adapt quickly, Solum delivered.