This is my first blog entry and I am excited to share my insights into working in a family practice, specifically our concierge family practice. You never know what you’re going to get! We have a lot of fun around here.

Today was a good day. We have an OSU medical student with us for a few weeks and it is always fun to have a fresh face in the office. Dr. Milks loves to teach so this is fun for him. Our patients are so wonderfully accepting of another person in the room, especially a medical student. Patients understand the need to learn. Just today, one patient said, “Open the door and bring everyone in from the bleachers!”

…And he was having a rectal exam!

We also had a staff meeting today and it always is so great to realize how long we have been in business. We’ve been operating almost 12 years and our staff has been with us from 9-12 years! We truly are a family and we all love what we do. Our mission has always been “Patients First and Like Family.” I think we do a good job of establishing relationships with our patients and we hope they know we really do care about them.

Our patients really care about us too. Everyone always asks when Dr. Milks is going to retire. The thing is, he shows no signs of slowing down at this point and he thinks he has another 7-10 years before he slows down. My feeling is that he will drop over in the office at 99! He has more energy than most people. He is harvesting the garden he put in in the spring, working on the refinishing of our basement he started in the Winter, and working in the office full time. He also spends his time buying gadgets from Amazon and going to Costco each week. The staff are complaining of the Oreos he bought this week. How are you supposed to not eat Oreos if they are available?

Jeff loves to tell the story of the patient who came to the office with black tar-like stools. This usually means blood in the stools. He was ready to order a colonoscopy but first wanted to know the patient’s diet.
It turns out the patient had failed to tell Dr. Milks that he had eaten 2 whole rows of Oreos recently! So here is a lesson for you. Another thing that causes stools to look like they have blood them is eating a large portion of beets. Make sure you always share with us if your diet includes beets and/or Oreos!

I like to tell our patients what is going around the office. The good and the bad. Lately we have had a run on kidney stones.

This usually happens this time of year when it gets extremely hot and people, especially men, get dehydrated without knowing it. Signs of a kidney stone are side pain, difficulty urinating, and blood in the urine. On these hot days this summer, make sure to carry a water bottle and stay hydrated as much as possible!

Thanks for reading my rants. Until next time, remember “You have a doctor in the family!”

Best of Health,

Deb Milks