Family Medicine Close to Home
On a Saturday afternoon in September, Dr. Doug Althouse returned home from a cross-country meet in Minden, Nebraska, where he helped provide medical support for kids crossing the finish line. He proudly sports the purple and white of the Minden High School Whippets. Dr. Althouse is a family physician at Kearney County Health Services (KCHS).
“It’s just one of the things we do,” he said. We all pitch in.”
Dr. Althouse grew up in Sutton, a town of fewer than 1,500 people, so he understands medical facilities are a crucial component of any small community. It was important to him to practice medicine close to home. After he completed the Rural Health Opportunities Program (RHOP) through Wayne State College, then his M.D. and Residency in Omaha, Dr. Althouse began practicing in Minden in 2006.
“I love family medicine,” Althouse said. “I take care of newborns. I also get to take care of people who are in their late nineties. The start and end of life and everything in between.”
Patients say Dr. Althouse treats them in a professional manner but with a personal touch.
“One advantage of being in a small community is that I can really establish in-depth relationships with my patients, which helps me take care of them, because you can approach them from a more holistic manner when you know them that well,” Dr. Althouse said.
Dr. Althouse continued to serve Minden until 2013. That year he decided to move to Lincoln to practice with a friend from his medical school days. He quickly learned that practicing in an urban setting is far different than practicing in a rural setting. Patients were often going to Urgent Care facilities, ERs or directly to subspecialties like dermatology and orthopedics.
“I felt like I was losing skills,” he said. “I really didn’t enjoy it as much because I didn’t have the variety. In a rural setting we do a variety of different things — minor procedures, ER care, hospital care. We don’t have sub-specialization of everything, and when I go to work every day, I get to do some problem solving.”
One year into his stint in Lincoln, KCHS approached him about returning to Minden and he jumped at the chance. A decade later, he does not regret the decision.
“I think it was important for me to leave for the year just so I got to see the other side. Having seen the other side, I wouldn’t trade rural medicine for that, ever,” Dr. Althouse said.
All teen runners crossed the finish line in good health that September morning, and Dr. Althouse plans to continue supporting his community at similar events.
“I love rural health, because I love establishing great relationships with my patients, knowing them on a personal basis and really getting to help them and my local community any way I can.”
Dr. Douglas Althouse, MD
Kearney County Health Services
Minden, Nebraska