Every spring I have the same conversation with adult children whose parents spend winters in Boca Raton. They're heading back to New York, New Jersey, or Toronto, and they're trying to figure out how their parents will be cared for medically for the next six months. The question is a fair one, and the stakes are real. The traditional system handles this situation badly, which is why families have to plan for it deliberately.
TL;DR A 5-step pre-departure checklist for snowbirds whose parents stay in Florida year-round (or whose parents stay through summer):
- Establish care with a physician who can actually see your parent same-day or next-day when something comes up
- Review all medications and ensure adequate refills for at least 3 months, including any prior-authorization issues
- Create a written medical summary (diagnoses, meds, allergies, recent labs, specialist contacts) and keep a copy on your phone
- Set up a communication plan with the physician so you can be reached and you can reach the doctor
- Handle advance directives and healthcare proxy if not already in place; physician should have copies on file
To reach the practice: call 561-468-6981
Why traditional care falls short for snowbird parents
The South Florida healthcare system is stretched. A primary care appointment can take two or three weeks to get. When your parent gets in, the visit is 15 minutes, with a physician who may not have seen them before and doesn't yet know their history.
That's workable when nothing is going wrong. It falls apart when something is. A mother with two days of chest pain who can't get an appointment. A father who runs out of blood pressure medication and the pharmacy is waiting on a prescription refill that takes three days to come through. A medication interaction that nobody catches because four different prescribers are involved and nobody is integrating the picture.
The traditional system assumes there's a local family member who can advocate and coordinate. When you're fifteen hundred miles away, that assumption breaks. (How concierge medicine works for snowbird patients more broadly.)
Before you leave Florida, a checklist
A few things that are worth doing before you head north, regardless of what kind of practice your parents use:
- Establish care with a physician who can actually see your parent when something comes up. Same-day or next-day availability isn't optional for aging patients. Waiting two weeks when something feels wrong isn't acceptable.
- Review all medications and ensure adequate refills. Every prescription, including supplements. Plan for at least three months. Note anything that requires prior authorization and make sure that's handled before you leave.
- Create a written medical summary. Current diagnoses, all medications with doses and frequencies, allergies, recent labs, and contact information for every specialist involved. Keep a copy on your phone.
- Set up a communication plan with the physician. You need to know that someone will call you if something develops, and that you can reach the doctor when you have questions. Get this in writing or at minimum verbally acknowledged before you leave.
- Handle advance directives and healthcare proxy. If these aren't in place, now is the time. The physician should have copies on file.
Why concierge medicine fits this situation
I run a concierge practice specifically because it solves the problems the traditional system can't. For snowbird parents with an adult child 1,500 miles away, the fit is especially good.
In my practice, patients get my cell phone. Your parent calls or texts directly and reaches me, not a voicemail system. I know their history because I've actually sat with them for 60 to 90 minutes at an annual visit and I see them regularly. When something comes up, we handle it in real time instead of through a three-day cycle of calls and callbacks. (What 24/7 access actually looks like in real scenarios.)
For you specifically, I'm also reachable. When you call from New York worried about something your father mentioned, I can give you a real update because I know the situation. I can tell you whether it's something I'm already on top of, whether it warrants a visit, or whether we need to coordinate something urgent. (What happens when an actual emergency hits.)
My panel is capped at 50 patients. That's why any of this is actually possible.
What to look for in a physician for your parents
If concierge isn't the right fit for your parents' situation, there are still specific things to look for in any physician:
- A practice that explicitly offers same-day or next-day urgent appointments
- After-hours accessibility, and a clear answer about what happens when something comes up at night
- Willingness to communicate with you as the adult child, with your parent's consent
- Time to actually listen; older patients typically have interrelated health issues that can't be addressed in seven minutes
- A proactive approach to monitoring trends in blood pressure, weight, glucose, and medications rather than just reacting when something is wrong
Ask the practice directly: how quickly can my parent be seen for something urgent? How do you handle after-hours concerns? Will you communicate with me if I have questions? The answers tell you a lot. (Full criteria for evaluating any concierge practice.)
Having the conversation with your parents
The hardest part of setting up better care for your parents is often convincing them they need it. Many older patients are independent by habit and don't want to admit that they might need more support, or that their children are worried.
Framing the conversation around your needs rather than theirs can help. "It would give me a lot more peace of mind to know you have a doctor who really knows you and is easy to reach when you need them" tends to land better than "I'm worried you can't manage on your own." Most parents, once they understand that the change reduces their children's worry, are willing to accept it.
The practical benefits are also worth naming. No more multi-week waits for appointments. No more being treated by whoever happens to be on shift at urgent care. A doctor who actually knows them and is reachable when something feels wrong. (Full framework for adult children setting up oversight for aging parents.)
Frequently Asked Questions
When in spring should I start setting this up?
Ideally at least 4 to 6 weeks before you leave Florida. That gives time for an initial comprehensive visit (so the new physician has a real baseline), HIPAA authorization to be put in place, medication reconciliation and refills, advance-directive paperwork to be filed, and any pending workups to be completed. Last-minute setups (a week before departure) are workable but rushed. The earlier the better.
What if my parents already have a physician they like in Florida but I'm worried about access?
Talk to that physician directly about access concerns. Ask specifically: how quickly can my parent be seen for something urgent? Who answers after hours? Will you communicate with me with my parent's consent? Some traditional practices have legitimate answers to these questions; many don't. The conversation gives you the data you need to decide whether the current setup is enough or whether a change makes sense.
How does Medicare interact with this?
Medicare continues to cover everything Medicare normally covers (specialist visits, hospital, imaging, labs, prescriptions). The concierge membership is separate and covers the physician's time and access. Many older patients keep Medicare exactly as they have it and add the concierge membership for the access piece. (Full breakdown of how concierge care works alongside Medicare for senior patients.)
What if my parent doesn't want to switch from their current doctor?
Don't force the issue. Sometimes the answer is to add a second physician relationship rather than replace the existing one (the current doctor for routine care, a concierge physician for the access and family communication piece). Sometimes the answer is to wait until the existing physician retires or changes practices, which often forces a transition naturally. Sometimes the conversation about access just needs to happen with the current physician first to see whether they can offer what's needed. The right answer varies by family.
What if my parent has a medical event while I'm up north?
The concierge physician is reachable in real time, can call the ER team to provide history and context, and keeps the family updated. (Full breakdown of what happens during a medical emergency for an aging parent.) The pre-departure setup is what makes this real-time coordination possible; setting it up after the first emergency is reactive rather than preventive.
How do I find the right physician for my parents in the first place?
The criteria are different for aging parents than for healthy adults; the access and continuity questions matter more, the cosmetic-medicine and high-tech-screening questions matter less. (Full guide to finding a real primary care physician for aging parents in Boca Raton.)
How to evaluate any practice for snowbird-parent care
The criterion is whether the practice has the structural capacity for same-day access, after-hours reach, family communication with consent, and coordination across the geographic split. Panel size below 300 is a reasonable proxy. (Full criteria for evaluating any concierge practice.)
About the Author
Dr. Ben Soffer, DO is a board-certified physician practicing concierge primary care in Boca Raton, Florida. He caps his practice at 50 patients, which is what makes the kind of pre-departure setup and year-round coordination described above the actual operating model rather than a marketing claim.
If your parents winter in Boca Raton and you want to set up real care
A no-obligation conversation about your specific situation, including the honest answer about whether my practice fits or whether a different option would serve the family better.
- Call: 561-468-6981
- Email: info@drbensoffer.com
- Or reach out through the contact form
