How Does the Delta Attract Star Doctors?
Small Town Living Enchants Many Newcomers By Molly Matthews
   Some friends call him Doc Hollywood. But Dr. Robert Love III would rather be known as Bob.
   After setting up residence in Los Angeles, the Greenville native looked around before deciding to return home to practice with someone he could trust - his dad.
   "Ultimately, when I looked around, the opportunities were better in Greenville," said Love of Plastic Surgery Consultants in Greenville. "I had an opportunity to join a practice that was up and running with someone I could trust as opposed to joining a practice where the goal is simply to make money off doctors who join the group."
   Love is not alone. Not only do numerous physicians and healthcare providers return to their roots in the Delta, many new physicians are attracted to the area because of a lifestyle they deem ideal - simplistic small town life, less traffic, good schools, access to excellent hunting and fishing, to name a few perks.
   "After living in Los Angeles, I was ready for a slower pace of life that this area offers," Love said. "I spent a significant amount of time driving from hospital to hospital. Just being back home adds two to three more hours to each day by not being in my car. People that want life in a big city pay the price for it, just in that respect."
   Dr. Mark Blackwood, originally from Drew, returned to the area in part because his brother, Dr. Don Blackwood, was already a practicing physician. While completing his residency in Dallas, Mark met Dr. Brad Bahl, an obstetrician/gynecologist who now practices in Greenville.
   "Hunting and fishing amenities in the Delta are very attractive to doctors," said Jana Clark, executive director of Diagnostic Imaging. "When I was marketing director at Delta Regional Medical Center and was responsible for physician recruiting, I would mention outdoors sports to anyone with the slightest interest in hunting and fishing. When doctors finish a daily round of seeing patients, they can head out and escape."
   Terri Lane, DRMC's marketing director, said physicians with a Yale or Harvard education have chosen to return to the Mississippi Delta "to use their talents to really make a difference for the residents here."
   "Star doctors see the Mississippi Delta as a wonderful opportunity to really make a difference using their skills," Lane said. "Several members of our Heart Team are 'home-town' boys who wanted to return home and use their vast knowledge here."
   Dr. Arnold Smith, who originated the North Central Mississippi Regional Cancer Center in Greenwood, grew up in Knoxville and was already comfortable living in the Delta when he decided to make it his permanent home, he said.
   "I have a cultural and ethical match with the Delta," said Smith. "My parents were plantation people from South Georgia where the climate and temperature were similar to the Delta. I feel quite at home here."
   Reading a state board of health study that concluded with the recommendation of a cancer treatment center in Greenwood cinched the deal.
   "The Mississippi Delta needed someone in my specialty," he said. "This was an underserved area. We had a lot of people commuting to Jackson and it was a hard commute. I wanted to make a difference."
   Bob Hawley, CEO of Bolivar Medical Center, has recruited 16 new physicians to Cleveland since his arrival in 1993.
   "It's a real challenge to recruit because there's a lot of competition," he said. "We provide competitive income guarantees, and in some cases, we may help with school loans and relocation expenses. It depends on the circumstances."
   It's not just the financial perks that draw newcomers, he said.
   "Cleveland's got a lot of pluses," he said. "Delta State (University) offers a lot, including the performing arts center. With good restaurants and other activities, it's good small town living in Cleveland. It's a nice place to raise a family with good public schools. You have to give up the big mall, but you give up the traffic, too."
   Felicia Warren, administrator of The Greenville Clinic, said it's tough to recruit physicians, particularly specialists.
   "We're looking for a full-time neurologist," she said. "There aren't that many graduating in that field and it's really hard to get a good candidate to come here versus a big city like Dallas. They might not want to come to a place where they don't know anybody and there's not as much to do."
   Barbara Livingston, marketing director of Bolivar Medical Center, said incentives could be offered "because we're an underserved area."
   "That's one reason why we're getting some good doctors," she said. "It makes a difference." Back