Concierge Primary Care Near Snell Isle, St. Petersburg

Snell Isle sits on the bay just north of Historic Old Northeast, between Coffee Pot Bayou on the west and Smacks Bayou on the east. Its curving streets and seawalls trace back to one developer’s plan, which called for a waterfront community inspired by Mediterranean architecture. In the late 1800s, the land was mangrove islands, marsh, and pasture, and a Chicago family ran cattle there. In 1911, C. Perry Snell, a Kentucky pharmacist who had first seen St. Petersburg on his honeymoon, bought the property. When development began in 1925, only about 39 of the 275 acres he planned were above the high-tide line. Dredges, seawalls, and fill made up the rest.

The first lots went on sale in October 1925, and buyers lined up along Coffee Pot Bayou the night before. Snell kept adding decorative statuary and landscaped boulevards even after Florida’s land boom collapsed. Some of those street monuments still stand along Brightwaters Boulevard, and a memorial to him stands in Snell Isle Park. The Snell Isle Property Owners Association has worked to keep the neighborhood’s character since 1938.

Life on the bayous

Much of Snell Isle faces the water. A lot of homes back onto the bayous or the bay, and Coffee Pot Bayou has a waterfront path. Residents include retirees who’ve been there for decades, families with school-age kids, and seasonal residents who come back every winter.

The nearest AnswersMD office

The AnswersMD St. Petersburg office is at 1201 5th Ave N, Suite 408, St. Petersburg, FL 33705, on the St. Anthony’s Hospital campus. Leaving the island, you cross the Snell Isle Boulevard bridge over Coffee Pot Bayou, then head south and west toward 5th Avenue North. By road it’s about:

• 2.6 miles from the Snell Isle Boulevard bridge
• 2.9 miles from Snell Isle Park
• 3 miles from the middle of the island

Visits at the St. Pete office are by appointment, so you’re expected when you arrive.

Meet Dr. Ellen Howard

Snell Isle members are cared for by Dr. Ellen Howard, MD, MPH, at the St. Petersburg office. She is board-certified in family medicine and also earned a master’s degree in public health. St. Petersburg is where she completed her family medicine residency, and it’s the city she chose to come back to. Hormone therapy and medical weight management are among her clinical interests, and prevention, catching small problems before they become larger ones, runs through all of it.

She is one of the physicians AnswersMD founder Douglas Shapiro, DO, brought together around a simple idea: primary care should be personal and unhurried.

Care that follows you through the year

Whole families can share the practice; the St. Petersburg office sees patients age 6 and up. For people who live on the island all year and people who come back each winter, membership covers:

• Direct cell access. Call or text Dr. Howard, and switch to a video visit if you spend summers up north.
• Time. Visits last as long as you need, which an intentionally small patient panel makes possible, including the long conversations a standard checkup rarely allows.
• Prompt appointments, often the same day or the next, when something comes up.
• A prevention plan, with executive physicals and advanced early-detection testing chosen with your physician.
• Help with specialists, from arranging the referral to following up afterward.

House calls are available on a case-by-case basis.

Visit before you decide

From the Snell Isle Boulevard bridge, the office is about 2.6 miles away. To see it in person, book a complimentary meet & greet and office tour by calling 813-333-8888. Allison, the practice’s AI phone assistant, handles those calls and can answer questions or find a time that works. The practice is also online at AnswersMD.com.

Dr. Howard is welcoming new members from Snell Isle and the neighborhoods around Coffee Pot Bayou.