I want to let you all know that Jenna is moving on from our practice. She is planning to travel and will be helping with her family’s business.
Together we have looked for her replacement, and are glad to introduce Todd Eldred.
I am grateful (as I am sure those of you who have been our patients are) for all that Jenna has brought to our practice. I cannot find the words to express how grateful Beth and I are for all the hard work she has done to help our practice flourish.
I am delighted that we found Shoshana and have been able to integrate her into our team over the last several months. She will continue to work one day a week (Wednesdays starting the week of October 23) and for longer periods when Todd is away.
Todd has done many things over the course of his career. His college degree from MSU was in Interdisciplinary Studies: Human Resources in Society with Emphasis in Economics. He worked on his family’s farm for 25 years. Then he went back to school and became a middle and high school teacher! Following that, he did agricultural research. We found his skill set to be deep and wide. He has been the Township Supervisor in Leslie, MI for many years. He will continue in that role and be in our office on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and every other Friday.
I have always looked to hire people for my practice that are excellent communicators and very intelligent. I know I am a good educator, and I involve my staff in our patient’s care by teaching them about the conditions we are working to help our patients overcome or manage with greater effect.
Medicine is an applied science. The practice of medicine is an art. The science is not as complicated as it may seem. Information is far more available to all of us. The shared commitment to work together in a partnership for health is how we find the right path for each individual patient. Todd and Shoshana have the skill set to help me effectively carry on the work we do for our patients.
One of the all-time great Medical educators (Sir William Osler) who was a Canadian and one of the reasons Johns Hopkins University Medical School was built said ‘it is much more important to know what sort of patient has a disease than what sort of disease a patient has’. The founder of Osteopathic Medicine (Andrew Taylor Still) said ‘The role of the physician is to find health. Anyone can find disease.’ To me, that is an interesting juxtaposition of the MD and DO world. Our understanding of disease, illness, and the science of medicine is still in its adolescence. We do well to listen to our patients and strive with them to find health.
Our practice is based on that principle. Todd, Shoshana, Beth, and I will continue to provide the kind of service our patients have experienced under the capable leadership of Jenna.
Best wishes to Jenna, and many thanks for your excellent service!
-Dr. G.