By Mary-Justine Lanyon
From the age of 12, Lloyd Costello knew what he wanted to be – a doctor.
He and his mother had gone to Mexico on vacation; he brought home a most unwelcome souvenir – Montezuma’s revenge. “I had not had serious illnesses so it was traumatic for me,” Dr. Costello said. “I thought people shouldn’t have to suffer and decided I wanted to be a doctor.”
He grew up in the San Gabriel Valley and went to Cal State Fullerton, where he earned his undergraduate degree in microbiology. It was at UC Davis where he received his M.D.
Dr. Costello started a family practice in Pomona but moved to the mountain in 1999 and commuted for several years. His children attended Rim schools. That commute became too much so he moved down the hill for a while but kept his mountain home. In 2019 he decided to move back to the mountain full time; he sold his practice in Pomona in 2021. Then, after working for Beaver Medical for a couple of years, he decided to start a more holistic practice on the mountain.
“I got tired of fighting with insurance companies to do the things I felt people needed,” Dr. Costello said. “You almost had to be an attorney to get things patients needed – tests, medications I thought people should be on.”
Pretty early on, Dr. Costello said, “I realized there were a lot of missing pieces – people were still getting sick, having issues. Traditional medicine doesn’t work that well for chronic illnesses.”
But, he acknowledged, traditional medicine works for emergency situations. “If someone is having a heart attack,” he said, “don’t give them herbs.”
He started doing a lot of research and did a fellowship in anti-aging medicine. He is very much into evidence-driven medicine: “Show me how it works, don’t just tell me this is what it is supposed to do.”
At his practice in Running Springs, Dr. Costello offers vitamin infusions and hormone replacement for men and women. His experience is that they make a big difference in people’s lives. He has done a lot of research on Vitamin C, which he said gives a lot of support to the immune system.
One of his patients had a vacation planned but got very sick three days before her departure. “She thought she would have to cancel,” Dr. Costello said. Instead, she came in for a vitamin infusion – and had a great time on her trip.
He offers a standard immune booster with 12,500 mg of Vitamin C and a super immune booster with 25,000 mg. Those infusions include 10 additional vitamins and minerals, including Vitamin B complex, B5, B6, B12, calcium, chromium, folate, magnesium, potassium and zinc.
Direct primary care
With the start of 2025, Dr. Costello has added direct primary care to his practice.
“I heard from patients how hard it was to see a doctor. They had to go down the hill or wait weeks or months to get an appointment for routine things,” he said.
He had heard about the direct primary care concept and thought it would be a win-win for him and the community. “People would have access to a doctor 24/7 and have easy access for appointments – up here,” Dr. Costello said.
For more critical issues, he expects patients to go to an emergency room such as the one at Mountains Community Hospital. But for more routine matters – an earache, sore throat – going to an ER is “probably overkill. It can be treated in a regular office,” he said. And, he added, going to an ER can be pricey.
With direct primary care, patients pay a monthly fee. That fee covers all services; the patient pays nothing extra. Dr. Costello saw a patient recently who needed treatment and antibiotics for an abscess. He saw that patient a few days later – and he didn’t have to pay for a second visit.
Another plus to his practice: “I’m it – people call and they are talking to me.” As the practice grows, he may add a nurse but for the time being he is a solo practitioner.
Direct primary care, Dr. Costello said, is a relatively new concept. There are about 2,400 such practices in the country. “It is gaining popularity as it has a lot of advantages. There are no hidden fees, no copays you don’t know about. And you get to spend time with the doctor – it won’t be a 10-minute visit,” he said. It’s not unusual for him to spend a half hour or even an hour, when necessary, with a patient.
Dr. Costello recommends his patients also have health insurance to cover medical care that goes beyond basic primary care. “Having a direct primary care membership might make you more comfortable with the idea of having a health plan with a higher deductible,” he said.
And harking back to the days when doctors showed up at your door, medical bag in hand, Dr. Costello makes house calls. “I will get to know you and your family. It seems like common sense but it’s not common practice,” he said.
Dr. Costello’s office is located at 32013 Holiday Lane in Running Springs. Call him at (909) 475-6444 or visit his website, drcmed.com, where you can apply to be a member of his direct primary care practice.
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