Publication

Robert Williams, MD, didn't initially plan to work in health care. His credential initials were originally CPA, as he was a certified public accountant. However, after five years in that field, he decided he was better suited for a career path as a physician—much to the good fortune of East Lewis County residents.

A Sought-After Specialty

Dr. Williams is a busy man. He is a part-time physician at Arbor Health—Morton Hospital in addition to having a full-time orthopedic surgery practice in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Arbor Health has long sought an orthopedic physician—the medical system's administrators identified the need for the service over 10 years ago. However, East Lewis County does not have the population to support a full-time orthopedic practice, and it proved difficult to recruit a part-time specialist. Last year, though, the pieces of the puzzle came together.

An employee in Dr. Williams' Corpus Christi office grew up in Eatonville and knew about Morton Hospital. One conversation led to another, with the result being that Dr. Williams started working at Arbor Health three days a month. During those days, he sees patients at the Morton Clinic and performs needed orthopedic procedures and surgeries at Morton Hospital.

Dr. Williams says he hopes to grow the orthopedic practice at Arbor Health. And while he is a surgeon, he gives the reminder that there are many nonoperative treatments for orthopedic needs.

"A lot of orthopedics does not include surgery," he says, explaining that they start with conservative, nonoperative treatments to see if the patient can get better that way before moving to the surgery level of care.

Categories: New Providers