I attended college at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, went to Chicago Medical School (now part of Rosalind Franklin University,)  and completed my residency of Internal Medicine at Rush Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center.  I am board certified in Internal Medicine, and became a fellow in the American College of Physicians/American Society of Internal Medicine after passing the boards in Geriatrics.

 

My professional career started in 1985 with a small practice at Weiss Memorial Hospital.  I then joined a group at Rush North Shore (now Skokie Hospital) in 1989, where I practiced until 2012, after which I affiliated with Northwestern Medicine in Lake Forest.

 

It was in 1989 that I started the Rush North Shore Alzheimer’s Disease Center.  In 1992 I was appointed Director, Section of Geriatrics, Department of Internal Medicine at Rush North Shore.  It has been an honor to have served as Medical Director to several local Skilled Nursing Facilities.  I was most recently Medical Director at Lake Forest Place, a Continuing Care Retirement Community, of the Presbyterian Homes.

 

The practice of medicine within today’s healthcare environment has changed over the time I have been a physician. It wasn’t too long into my career that hospitals encouraged doctors to become part of the larger hospital-based systems, offering less time to be concerned with practice management and prior authorizations for medications, et cetera, and more time to concentrate just on patient care.  As the years passed, the Electronic Medical Record and Hospitalist Medicine came about.  The number of Immediate Care Centers increased.  Fewer numbers of internal medicine residents were opting to practice in a traditional primary care model.  This left fewer Primary Care Physicians to care for more patients in hospital systems.  These changes meant more e-mails, telephone calls, charts to close, and test results to interpret for primary care physicians, usually done at the end of a day of office hours.  It is no wonder why fewer doctors are choosing primary care medicine.  Working in shifts became more appealing, as opposed to caring for generations of families in a more longitudinal model.  More patients have become dis-satisfied with the call centers that hospital-based practices use, frustrated by the time it takes for physicians to respond to correspondence, and the days, weeks, and months it takes to get an appointment to be seen by primary care and specialists alike.  Physicians are more frustrated at the lack of control they have over their own practice, and the inability to practice in a manner that is proper and efficient. 

 

The decision to leave the hospital-based system and start a private practice was difficult for me.  There have been challenges along the way, but I know that I have made the right choice.  My new practice will allow for easier access to me and my office, without having to go through a call center.  We will be able to offer appointments either the same day or the next day, as the number of patients in the practice is limited.  I will be able to relay test results in a timelier manner.  If you are hospitalized, I will be able to see you when you may need support the most.  I will have more time to advocate for you and communicate with other specialists to help improve your access to their care. 

 

I look forward to being a part of your health care journey.  It is a privilege that I do not take lightly.  It has always been an honor for me to be able to care for others.  Thank you for having faith in me.  It has, and always will be, a truly humbling experience.