Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 28, 1990 TAG: 9007300273
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BARBARA HOLCOMB SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: FLOYD LENGTH: Medium
Since July 9, he has begun practicing medicine two days a week with Dr. Garry Kuiken, who has had a practice for 13 years at the Floyd Family Practice Center.
Despite the hectic schedule, Beese is content with the change in his life that began in June when he moved to Floyd. Beese says he and his wife, a writer and educator on sabbatical for two years, are doing what they have always hoped to do.
"We are finally fitting our jobs to our lifestyle, instead of the reverse," Beese said. "We've been looking to move for about two years. My wife actually found Floyd for us. She was driving around this part of Virginia and fell in love with it."
When September begins, Beese will join Kuiken on a full-time basis. Beese then hopes to jog or ride a bike the two miles it will take him to get to work. He may even cross-country ski in the winter. It will be a welcome change from the commuter lifestyle he's been living.
For more than 13 years, Floyd County has had only two family doctors, Kuiken and Dr. L.V. Marshall. Beese thinks he will get a good reception.
"We had an open house recently during which anyone who came could receive free cholesterol testing. It was from 8-11 a.m. one Saturday," Beese said. "I was amazed when about 60 people came who were fasting and hungry and ready to introduce themselves to the new doctor."
Beese was graduated from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, S.C., in 1982. He completed his residency at Bowman Gray School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C. He has degrees in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech and in biology from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, S.C.
"Folks in Floyd are so friendly. People wave at you when you drive past them," Beese said. "We have never lived anywhere where people did that before. It took us by surprise.
"Floyd is a bedroom community to Radford, Christiansburg, Blacksburg and Roanoke," he said. "There is a tremendous mix of people here - farmers, professionals and more. It's a lively, growing place in a beautiful rural setting. People often stop in Christiansburg or elsewhere to meet their health-care needs. We hope more will decide to come to us."
Beese said his practice offers a continuity of service and surveillance for the entire family. "I am into preventative and maintenance care. For example, I like dealing with high blood pressure before someone has a real problem," he said.
"I've been practicing for five years. I enjoy seeing families grow and develop, as well as detecting trends which run within families. I am still learning things every day, but I have a breadth of knowledge and I know where to go to find what I need to help solve a health-care problem."
Beese enjoys the variety of problem-solving a family practitioner encounters. He finds it more interesting than dealing with the same situations routinely, often the case in a specialist's work.
He likes looking for needles in haystacks. This is the reason he decided to go into medicine.
"I worked in the Navy after getting my B.S. degree. I found I liked working with people and I liked problem-solving," he said. "I am able to apply the same analytical processes used in engineering to my medical practice."
Beese believes there is a balance between physical and emotional health. He thinks that if one has a positive emotional outlook and takes care of one's basic physical needs (such as a good diet, adequate sleep, not smoking or overworking) one will be short-circuiting many potential health problems.
"So many diseases I see," he said, "are related to emotional problems. Examples include stomach acid, heartburn and ulcers.
"It doesn't help much to treat the ulcers without treating the emotional condition. If you do that, you are only treating the symptom. We find people need help and guidance, which we do as much as we can, but we also suggest counseling when we know this will help the patient to a greater degree."
by CNB