Local Surgeon Re-invents An Unfriendly Medical System
Dr. Denny Kubinski is helping men remain sexually active and maintain their vitality and health well into their golden years.
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Dr. Denny Kubinski at The Men's Center
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Exterior of The Men's Center
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Dr. Kubinski and wife, Christina Kubinski, outside The Men's Center
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The entrance to The Men's Center, featuring their motto: "We're not here to check the boxes. We're here to connect the dots."
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Dr. Kubinski in his office
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The Men's Center foyer
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Interior of The Men's Center
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Entrance to waiting room - The Shop
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Wall of supplements and medicine inside The Shop
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Supplements inside The Men's Center
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Sports playing inside The Shop
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Wall of fame inside The Shop
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Portrait of Bo Jackson inside The Shop
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Patients supporting Dr. Dennis Kubinski
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Exam Room 1
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Exam Room 2
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Exam Room 3
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In-House lab for Bloodwork
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Dr. Kubinski's office
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Basil Hayden for patients
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(2020) Dr. Denny Kubinski and children, Dorn (8) and Helena (6), all starting their first days of school. Denny’s first day of MBA.
When was the last time your doctor greeted you by name when you called his or her office and was ready to address your concerns on the spot? If you’re shaking your head because that concept seems completely foreign, you probably aren’t alone.
Most of us know the drill. We call our doctor’s office in anticipation of a receptionist answering and scheduling an appointment for some time in the future. We wait days or even weeks just to experience 10 minutes, if we’re lucky, of face time with an RN – often never seeing or speaking with the doctor. But what if I told you there’s a male clinic in Mount Pleasant whose sole mission is to prioritize patients and defy and re-invent a tired, unfriendly system?
It's called The Men’s Center, and yes, when you call, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll get to speak with Dr. Denny Kubinski or his RN, Jeff Haught. With its patient-centered attitude, the Charleston area’s only men’s clinic with a board-certified urologist is certain to spark a trend in the Lowcountry.
Dr. Kubinski, a Sullivan’s Island resident and prostate cancer surgeon for more than 17 years at Roper Hospital, left his hard-earned stability behind the day he opened his doors of The Men’s Center in October 2022. His mission? For patients to be seen, not just overseen, by a doctor.
“If you call me, I will call you back as soon as I can. I check voicemails and emails every morning to provide an immediate response. I didn’t have time to call my patients back before. Now I get to provide an intimate experience,” the former cancer surgeon said.
Dr. Kubinski eventually reached a point in his career where he no longer wanted to work under the thumb of a system with incentives that did not align with his own goals and aspirations. For years, he was skeptical of his insurance-dictated environment. Ultimately, insurance companies, not his medical experience and expertise, dictated the treatment he was providing for his patients. His overhead was extremely high, and he had to satisfy an army of administrators. And, because generating revenue became his responsibility, he felt obligated to see a new patient sometimes as often as every ten minutes.
“I felt like I was going to miss something, and I wasn’t giving my patients the attention they deserved. After barely tending to a patient, I was expected to properly document and record coding numbers. It was strictly to satisfy insurance companies so that the hospital could get paid by those companies,” Dr. Kubinski said, adding that he was frustrated that the time he spent on these menial tasks provided zero services for his patients.
Though he was expected to enter a room to treat his patients, computer in tow, and begin robotically checking off boxes as his patients spoke, Dr. Kubinski refused to give in to the system because it diminished his ability to interact with his clients in a thoughtful, patient-focused way. He was already working in an atmosphere that mandated that he treat 24 to 30 patients a day. He knew wasting time staring at a computer screen just to satisfy insurance companies would shrink an already tiny face-to face window for patients who were thirsty for a meaningful interaction with their doctor.
Dr. Kubinski; son, Dorn (8); daughter, Halina (6); and wife, Christina
Instead of carving into time with his patients, Dr. Kubinski took his computer home with him after long days, often satisfying his paperwork requirements and dictations at the dinner table and on weekends. This plan was not conducive to a healthy work/life balance, and, as a result, quality time with his family suffered. He and his wife, Christina, share an 8-year-old son, Dorn, and a 6-year-old daughter, Halina.
“It was almost like my kids were expecting me to miss things and not be around, and that jarring realization made me ask: Why am I here?’” the doctor said.
Dr. Kubinski loved taking care of patients and performing surgeries, but he was no longer able to operate in a way that was meaningful to him. He knew that if he wanted quality time with his family while also providing clients with a better experience, something had to change.
The COVID-19 pandemic ultimately became the catalyst that altered his life. In early 2020, the pause in patient care gave Dr. Kubinski time to reflect on his life and his career.
“I don’t feel like I took a breath for 15 years of practicing, and then suddenly, I had this epiphany that sort of shocked me. I realized I didn’t want to go back to that. So, I applied to business school,” the father of two said.
That afternoon, Dr. Kubinski enrolled himself in the Health Sector Management program at Duke University, where he attended classes virtually while still working tirelessly through the pandemic at Roper Hospital.
He pointed out that other doctors in his classes also were struggling with an insurance-dictated medical system. Collectively, they dove into the volume-based health care system and the incentives that they believe are perverse.
“There are three categories of individuals with incentives,” Dr. Kubinski explained. “Doctors, patients, and administrators. But often their incentives are misaligned. Doctors often feel pressure to do more volume, to do more things to more people."
In May 2022, Dr. Kubinski graduated with his MBA, and, one month later, he quit his career as a surgeon.
“I was halfway through my career, and I asked myself: “Do I want to look ahead at 15 more years under the same umbrella or do I want to make a change?’”
That change came quickly for Dr. Kubinski. Just four months after leaving Roper, he opened The Men’s Center’s doors. For the first time in his career, there is no red tape, and, instead of checking off boxes, he has begun connecting the dots. Instead of writing codes, he writes narratives after hour-long meetings with his patients. He schedules no more than six new patients a day.
The Kubinski’s say that patients have been receptive and that the response from the community has been both humbling and exciting.
“Not accepting insurance is ultimately a total paradigm and mind-set shift for the patients,” Dr. Kubinski said, noting that his model has not been cost-prohibitive because the pricing is so transparent. “Most insurance deductibles are so high that patients are paying it anyway.”
He recalls patients who were facing increasing premiums at the same rate their deductibles were going up.
“High-deductible patients would much rather pay cash in an environment that’s transparent and covers everything. The crazy thing about medicine is that there’s no other service industry where you get provided a service prior to being told what it costs. Patients used to ask me all the time how much their surgeries were going to cost, and I would have to tell them I didn’t know and that they would receive a bill from the hospital or the anesthesiologist,” he said, adding that he believes insurance is purposely complicated to wear clients down.
The patients at The Men’s Center certainly cannot attest to feeling worn down.
“They come in and don’t want to leave, which speaks to the space itself,” Christina said.
Dr. Kubinski’s mission and vision to provide a comfortable, inviting environment has been intentionally curated in the clinic’s layout and design. With a true locker room feel, the clinic operates like no other medical facility. Unlike most sterile doctors’ offices, The Men’s Center is just downright cool. The waiting room, also known as “The Shop,” is where you’ll find a big-screen TV streaming sports, chilled soft drinks in a mini fridge, snacks such as protein bars and chips and the “wall of fame,” where Dr. Kubinski displays items like the baseball jersey his brother wore in the major leagues and a picture of the golf course where he scored his first hole-in-one.
There’s also a wall of medicines and supplements that Dr. Kubinski has heavily researched. He only buys from companies that test supplements to ensure sure they work the way they say they will. From Viagra and Cialis to daily greens and top-performing protein powders, Dr. Kubinski has the medicines and supplements that help stabilize testosterone, improve liver function, act as natural anti-inflammatories, help combat symptoms of an enlarged prostate and provide nutritional benefits. He also sells devices that help treat erectile dysfunction.
“Most men hate going to the doctor’s office,” Dr. Kubinski said. “That’s why I wanted The Men’s Center to provide a different experience. I hope men enter these doors and immediately feel comfortable.”
There are portraits of Dr. Kubinski’s childhood idols all over the walls: athletes Steve Garvey, Michael Jordan and Bo Jackson and musicians Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth.
“I wanted my patients to identify with the men on the walls – men who are ultimately their age and who they likely grew up with.”
The best part? After a visit to 'The Shop' and an exam room, patients spend a majority of their visit in Dr. Kubinski’s office, which displays photos of his family and a whiteboard so they can visualize what Dr. Kubinski is teaching them. Men can recline on the leather sofa while sipping on a freshly poured glass of Basil Hayden.
“It’s hard for some men to talk about this stuff,” Dr. Kubinski said. “So, I try to create a relaxed space to just talk man to man.”
Providing a comfortable situation for men dealing with conditions such as sexual dysfunction, low testosterone and prostate issues is a huge reason why The Men’s Center has an all-male staff.
“It’s hard picking up the phone and telling the woman on the other end that you’re, well, struggling to get hard,” Dr. Kubinski joked.
Dr. Kubinski’s career change didn’t come without challenges. He and his wife recall many dinner-table conversations where they discussed the financial reality of the decision they were making. The family of four had relied on a certain revenue stream for decades, and, with two young children in the picture, the change was and still is a big risk. A handful of former colleagues have voiced their concerns over the financial risk.
“Some are envious I was brave enough to try this, but most think I’m crazy,” Dr. Kubinski admitted.
The Kubinski's dipped into their retirement savings and sold personal items to make their dream a reality. Though the stakes are high, Christina couldn’t be more supportive of her husband. She built the website and handles all marketing and programming for The Men’s Center, and they designed the space together.
“I have such confidence in his ability to make this work,” she said. “I saw him go from so happy in the beginning of his career to less happy as time went on. His light was dimming.”
Christina remembers endless early morning and late evening phone conversations where she would overhear her husband and his colleagues discussing their frustration as they questioned whether they could try doing things differently.
“He just wanted to improve the experience for the patients, but he had no autonomy to do so. I see a happier human in my husband today. He’d become so disheartened, but instead of resigning himself to the status quo, he boldly took a leap of faith to create something so different,” Christina said.
Dr. Kubinski knew he was leaving more than just financial stability behind. He was letting go of a major part of his identity.
“I was primarily a prostate cancer surgeon for 17 years – it’s what I was known for in Charleston – and while it was incredibly stressful, it was the most rewarding experience I could imagine. It was my lifeblood and where I came alive.”
Dr. Kubinski said some of his best days were those he spent in the operating room. But because he’s chosen to remove the middleman, no insurance companies or hospitals ultimately means no more surgeries either.
“I struggle with it, and I miss it a ton. Leaving surgeries was a huge thing for me to forfeit,” he said.
While he worried if he would still have the same impact walking away from his former career, Dr. Kubinski has since realized that he’s saving lives in a new way. The Men’s Center has a lab in the office to perform bloodwork, and he and his RN hand-select blood panels to look for different markers.
“In a recent case, I detected diabetes in a patient after looking over his bloodwork. I called him directly to share the news and talk him through next steps,” Dr. Kubinski said.
He added that having the time to assess a person’s next steps after discovering a medical issue is a game-changing experience for patients.
“Most doctors will notice a patient’s cholesterol is high and prescribe Lipitor because it’s all he or she has time for. I’m in a position now where I can get a full picture and discuss lifestyle and diet changes to improve overall health – not just prescribe a band-aid to the problem.”
The Men’s Center gives Dr. Kubinski the opportunity to do more than just bloodwork. He offers treatments that aren’t available in insurance-driven models. For example, much of what Dr. Kubinski now does for his patients doesn’t have an insurance code. He is not beholden to a system that doesn’t allow him to provide the help a person really needs.
“It’s so rewarding to hear clients say things like “you just made my life better,” “my sex life is better,” “my relationships are better,” “my energy has improved” and “you have enhanced my quality of life.” That’s what this clinic is,” Dr. Kubinski said.
He tells his clients that he must take two roads simultaneously – he must make sure there’s nothing threatening the patient’s life, but, at the same time, his goal is to improve the quality of that person’s life.
The clinic will host its first prostate cancer support group on March 30, hoping to provide a comfortable space to facilitate conversation and create solidarity in a communal atmosphere.
