From Milwaukee, WI: We are now settled in Milwaukee and are enjoying exploring the state. The restaurants here have unbelievably good food (many Jenney Craig's around, too) and the people are very friendly. My job is working out well, although Milwaukee is currently going through some major medical economic changes.
From Reno, NV: My wife, Barb Irish, and I moved to Reno, NV, in June, 1995.I joined Associated Anesthesiologists of Reno and have been working hard. We do the majority of cases in Reno ranging from cardiac to preemies and I have really enjoyed working with this great group of people. Barb's practice in Ophthalmology is going well and growing. Reno has been a great place to live and the climate and outdoor recreation cannot be beat. We're fortunate that things have turned out so well and look forward to keeping in touch with our friends and colleagues.
From Monroe, WI: Greetings from cheeseland! I have joined a group of five anesthesiologists who provide comprehensive anesthesia services for a 175-bed hospital serving a community of 15,000. Our caseload is very diverse with a large geriatric and pediatric patient population. We do not perform open heart or neurosurgery at our hospital.
I am currently coordinating a move for our OB anesthesia services from the main OR to the obstetrical ward OR which has been a challenge due to the small operating budget. We are using Narkomed 4 state-of-the-art anesthesia machines with automated record keepers and my record shave become much more legible. My fellow anesthesiologists are friendly and helpful, but when they have a question regarding a technique or a procedure they ask me-further proof that the U-M anesthesia residents truly get superior training!
From Lawrenceville, NJ: Things are going well out here in New Jersey. I am the Director of the Pain Management Center at Princeton. I have a whole new respect for what you (Dr. Kevin K. Tremper) must go through running a department the size of yours. It seems as if the meetings are endless as we get this new entity off the ground. I am slowly getting the hospital to provide a facility in which to run the clinic. This has been a real sticking point because nobody wants to give up any space. I am in the pain clinic two to three days a week and in the operating room the other times, however, the volume in the pain practice has been increasing at a rate of 50% a month and we are now up to 60 to 80 patient visits a month.
The pain clinic is quasi multidisciplinary. At this time we have a part time Psychologist only. However, I have been developing good relationships with the Physical Medicine department and am hopeful that we will have a therapist on site soon for new patient evaluations. I do have a procedure room that is actually an OR that was not being utilized, as well as a dedicated C-arm. In addition to the chronic pain clinic, I have also started an acute pain service, including epidurals on every floor of the hospital. This was a major undertaking as people are not yet comfortable with this new idea because Demerol and Vistaril were still the standard. However, once the staff witnessed how well controlled postoperative pain can be managed, they were quickly convinced.(This is especially true when we are able to discharge aortic aneurysms in eight days when the standard has been 14 days).
Maria (Dr. Collito's wife), and I are very happy here, the Princeton area is very beautiful, and in many ways very similar to Ann Arbor (sports teams excluded).