OCILLA, GA. POP. 3,414
THE COUNTRY DOCTOR IS IN A day in the life of a vanishing breed— the small-town American physician
COVER
By JENNIFER KAHN & INSIDE PHOTOGRAPHS by MELISSA GOLDEN
Imagine this: You are a young doctor who has recently graduated from medical school. An excellent student, you could choose to practice almost anywhere—including Atlanta, where your advising professor has connections. Instead, you set up shop in a small southern town, much like the one you grew up in. It’s the kind of place where the neighbors all know each other, where families have lived for generations and still attend the same church. It’s also a place where a young doctor is unlikely to get rich. In this town of Ocilla, Ga., there are a host of health challenges: obesity, drug abuse, depression— the usual troubles that doctors have to manage, except you’re doing it without the benefit of specialists to advise you. As one of the only doctors for miles around, you are on call every night and
need a range of skills that no city doctor would dream of having: Your patients depend on you for everything from putting a cast on a broken bone to performing surgery. Still, you like the idea of knowing your patients, knowing their families. But two decades pass, and the job has gotten harder. The per capita income around here is roughly $15,300, and unemployment is over 12 percent. Insurance companies have been chipping away at your earnings, and a growing number of your patients are now battling chronic diseases like diabetes and emphysema. Things would be easier if you closed your practice and took a position with the regional medical center 30 miles away. At times, you’ve been tempted. But then, what would your patients do?
6 • MARCH 3, 2013
© PARADE Publications 2013. All rights reserved.