PROFESSIONWest Virginia doctor kept practicing, even while a patientDedication and caring earned this family physician a loyal patient base and an accolade.By Damon Adams, amednews staff. Jan. 20, 2003. James H. Blume Jr., DO, did not suspect anything serious when he first started passing blood. "Like all good doctors, I passed it off as a hemorrhoid," he said. But when it didn't go away, "I stood in front of the mirror and told myself, 'You need to go to the doctor.' " What his doctors found in August 2001 was colon cancer. Dr. Blume underwent surgery and months of radiation and chemotherapy. But even as he battled cancer, he kept open his family practice in Forest Hill, W.Va., a town of 75 people in the southern tip of the state. For his dedication to his patients and the community, Dr. Blume recently was honored as 2002 Country Doctor of the Year by Staff Care, a Texas-based temporary physician staffing firm. "People don't know how close I came to being a statistic instead of a celebrity," Dr. Blume joked in his soft country drawl. "I felt like I've always been sympathetic, but now I can be empathetic with my patients." Dr. Blume, 46, was selected for the honor from 248 nominees nationwide. Staff Care also noted that Dr. Blume practices in a state plagued by rising medical liability insurance rates but he continues to put in time at the local hospital's emergency department and treats patients regardless of their ability to pay. The award generated a lot of attention from local newspapers and TV stations, which ran stories about the friendly, bespectacled doctor. His patients said he deserves to be noticed. [...]Full text of American Medical News content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.
Copyright 2003 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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