Dr. Micah Levine and Josef Loeffler, two community members acutely aware of the effects of lung diseases, recently cofounded PulmaCare, a virtual pulmonary rehabilitation company.
They, along with third cofounder Eric Vargas, launched the company in April with the goal of improving the quality of life of patients suffering from lung diseases. They aim to make PulmaCare the premier organization of its type in the Midwest.
Pulmonary rehabilitation is intended for people with chronic lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and proven to be effective in helping patients. Dr. Levine, a pulmonologist at Saint Luke’s, was therefore disappointed to learn that most people eligible for pulmonary rehab don’t do it.
“When people do a [pulmonary] rehab program, they have less shortness of breath,” he said. “They stay out of the hospital more, so they have less flare-ups of their disease. They’re able to walk farther. Their depression and anxiety scores get better… but when I looked at the data, only two-to-five percent of people that are eligible end up doing it. So we asked ourselves, ‘Why is that?’”
There turns out to be many reasons, mainly surrounding accessibility and availability — many pulmonary rehab patients are elderly and might have unreliable transportation, and in many cases, there is a lack of in-person options, according to Dr. Levine. Virtual pulmonary rehabilitation, on the other hand, offers the same services remotely at a lower cost and with double the patient retention rate.
He approached Loeffler, a longtime friend and philanthropist, and Vargas, a physical therapist, with this situation, and the idea of PulmaCare began forming.
For Loeffler, the importance of pulmonary rehab is personal. His father, Frank Loeffler (z”l), suffered from lung disease, but would always feel better after a rehabilitation session.
“Even though it wouldn’t cure his interstitial lung disease, [his reported pain] would go down,” Loeffler said. “His pain would be less, his stress would be less, and to just provide that compassionate care without drugs, without any crazy interventions, is incredible.”
PulmaCare’s virtual services include cardiovascular and resistance-training exercises, education and psychosocial support and counseling. Group therapy sessions allow patients to share their experiences with each other and bond. PulmaCare also offers access to an app that provides resources such as lectures and exercise information.
“We really try to not just give that in-person support for a periodic visit once or twice a week, but also some online resources so people can really continue to do the work,” Loeffler said, “because unfortunately, with some of these diseases, the work’s not going to stop. You’re going to have to keep going, and that’s going to make you better off.”
Patients can be referred to PulmaCare by their medical providers or self-refer at pulmacarerehab.com. The rehabilitation is covered by Medicare and other insurers, and the only equipment the patient needs are a pulse oximeter and blood pressure monitor.
Both Loeffler and Dr. Levine emphasized that their Jewish values and ethics were paramount in their decision to create PulmaCare. Both grew up in the Jewish community and attended Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy. Their shared motives strengthened their business partnership.
“For me, doing business with Micah, there’s a deep sense of shared values and purpose from a deep love of Israel; with our advocacy; with groups like AIPAC; and his leadership with [the American Jewish Committee]… as well as lots of commonly shared values of how to treat people with human dignity and trying to take care of them,” Loeffler said. “In a time when antisemitism is high… doing acts like this, taking care of our neighbors, is really important.”
They also stress that this business was created with the goal of helping people over making a significant profit.
“We love doing business together, because we believe when you create value, you make money. And if we were trying to do things just for profit, I don’t think we’d make any money,” Dr. Levine said.
“We’re not going to be the richest people for doing this, but it’s the right thing, and maybe from doing that, we’re going to get rewarded in other ways,” Loeffler said.
Though profit was not the main goal, since April, PulmaCare has grown far beyond what its team expected. The company’s operation manager originally planned for five or 10 patients in the first few months, but Dr. Levine said they’ve added 57 patients in just the past month. He also has written multiple articles touting the effectiveness of virtual pulmonary rehabilitation.
“It’s growing leaps and bounds, way faster than we anticipated. We’ve had to keep hiring and hiring, which is a good problem to have,” he said.
Both Loeffler and Dr. Levine are confident in the future of PulmaCare, with the possibility of eventually expanding to other Midwestern states.
“We are going to be the premier virtual care pulmonary rehab company in the Midwest,” Dr. Levine said. “I think we probably set the standard, because it’s so brand-new. There’s only a few companies that are doing it, and I’m confident we’re doing it better.”
“Hopefully, we help give [patients] a chance just to enjoy their lives a little bit more, to be with their loved ones a little bit longer and feel empowered to take care of themselves,” Loeffler said.
Those interested in learning more about PulmaCare can visit pulmacarerehab.com or call (913) 346-5688.
