Free Love Imagines (Sully Point, Book 6) by Nicole Smith

his kind eyes. "Not returning to the hospital, I
mean. As far as your offer to take over here...that needs some thought."
    Doc nodded. "Yes, of course it does. But while
you're thinking, there are some things you need to know and things I need to
tell you. One of the most important to you probably, is that the office here
gets funding from the foundation set up by the Grainger, Carter, and Tremaine
families and their extensions. They call it the Sully Point Foundation now, or
the SPF. They came to me once it was set up to say they would cover medical
bills for anyone who couldn't afford to pay, or didn't have insurance. As they
put it to me, nobody in town should be wiped out financially because of doctor
and hospital bills."
    "Wow. That's...unheard of."
    "Yes, I know. You're related to some big-hearted
people. And they simplified the process so all we have to do here in the office
is fill out one form and send it in, and then presto!, we get paid."
    "Nobody in the family mentioned this to me at all.
You haven't told them you want to leave yet? Or that you were going to ask me?"
    "No, they don't know. Aside from medical bill
help, the foundation donated equipment. We have a state of the art computer
system and we use laptops to document everything. I carry a laptop with me when
I go out on a call."
    "Wait a minute—you do house calls? Really?" Rose
asked in disbelief.
    Doc smiled at her. "Sure do. I like to see where
people live, how they live, to treat the whole person."
    Rose had leaned forward in her chair and sat back
to listen to more. She believed in a
holistic approach to medicine like he was describing.
    "We also got some equipment we needed from the
SPF. I can do an EKG here in the office, and we have an x-ray machine for
emergency use. My nurse is trained in the use of all the equipment. There's
also a receptionist who mans the phone and the front desk. I've had my eyes
open for a nurse practitioner so that there wouldn't be such a load on the
nurse, and who could help out with prenatal care and education about illnesses.
There are two empty offices for another doctor and a nurse practitioner. Come
with me and I'll show you the setup here."
    They walked out of the office and down the hall.
The more she saw, the more impressed Rose was. Everything was state of the art,
well-organized, and almost everything looked brand new.
    "Did they just recently give you new furniture and
exam room equipment? The foundation?"
    "Yes, just a couple months ago. Looks pretty snazzy,
doesn't it?" Doc said proudly.
    "It sure does."
    They ended up back in his office looking at the
laptop he carried with him always. It was one of those tough ones that you
could take into a jungle or up a mountain. The screen swiveled around so that
patients could sign the screen easily with a special pen. That speeded up
things like authorizations and medical billing forms, especially on house
calls.
    "You've got a slick operation here, Doc. I'm
definitely impressed. It would be a big adjustment for me, coming from the E.R.
and Trauma Unit. But there is an appeal to having the time to get to know my
patients, to work on prevention and not just seeing them in a crisis. I don't
feel like I can give you an answer yet, though. Not until I have more time to
de-stress and think about what I want. Thank you, for giving me a truly
wonderful option."
    He stood up and walked around the desk to shake
her hand and walk her to the door. "I think you'd be successful at it. But you have
to want to do this kind of doctoring. It's a special kind of medical work. Feel
free to call me if you think of any questions while you're pondering what to
do."
    "Thanks, I will. I'll be talking to you soon,
Doc."
    Rose left the doctor's office, and walked slowly
back toward her apartment. The smells of the Bakery were tempting, but she resisted
the urge and went up the stairs and into her place. She found some peaches,
plain yogurt, and ground flax seed and dumped it into the blender