JOB POST: Help Wanted, Intrepid Physician Needed

Who would like to join a Norman Rockwell inspired, old-fashioned New Hampshire General Practice, and put some grace in their life?   

The Last privately owned and operated General Practice in all of Strafford County New Hampshire seeks a young(er) associate physician. The good news: I am a Harvard educated MD MPH with 42 years experience, working this practice since 1989. I run an old fashioned General Practice/Walkin Practice and am on call 24/7 via pager and cellphone.  This generally means that all calls are handled before 9PM, and then we see those who called, the very next day, on immediate followup.

This “bygone era” immediate care approach gives me the lowest admission rate of any physician on the local hospital staff, and extraordinary acceptance by local and distant patients. (We see patients from New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts, and further) Approximately 10,000 people in the Rochester catchment area, and beyond, believe that I am their family doctor, and have been fiercely loyal.

The practice mix is 80% insured, 20 % uninsured, whom we have always treated as if they were insured, at the same standards of care, hence the fierce loyalty There is great room for expansion, should the new doctor wish.

We are listed as Providers for every major insurer, and for most of the others.

I work in/own a restored Victorian Building which stands directly on the Common, in the heart of Rochester New Hampshire. There is no better more visible location in all of Rochester. The local News Media have been very supportive, as they have come to understand the evanescent nature of my work.

Five terrific women help me to do my work. One of these women is a highly experienced RN/Physician’s Assistant. All but one of the women have been with me for nearly ten years. My office manager has been with me for 18 years, has both raised a family and graduated from college while in my employ.

We work 9 to 5 Monday through Wednesday,  9 to 1 on Fridays, and  take a two hour lunch break to do paperwork every day. We do limited labs and EKG on the premises, have discussed becoming more self contained, but have not acted upon the discussion, to date. There is a very nice apartment upstairs in the building, with an attic aerie, equipped with a weight room and a Ping Pong table, and a roof deck. Local Schools are good and several very good private schools are nearby.

The Bad News:

I am approaching seventy years old.  It is not by accident that I am “the last man standing” in Strafford County. Our local Hospital has done what every other local hospital in America has done, or is contemplating, namely to try to drive all private practices out of business, directly, or buy them and own all the means of healthcare production in their catchment area.

As an outlier, I am under peer scrutiny all the time, and have no genuine colleagues to speak of. I had a recent confrontation with the New Hampshire Board of Medicine, at which many patients appeared to defend me, but no physicians. (I won the case). So, if you are lacking grace in your life, would like to be the kind of physician you set out to be, do good in the world, and take care of people, some of whom have no insurance and no money, this is the spot for you. You will not retire a millionaire unless you expand the practice, but there is room to expand.

You must have a spotless record. You must have good communication skills.

Email  Terry at greencafe dot com to schedule a phone interview.

Thanks

Terry Bennett MD MPH
Rochester NH