The newest physician to join Caldwell County’s medical ranks plans to open his office to the community next week.
Dr. William Stafford said his practice, Stafford Family Medicine, is set to open Thursday, Oct. 16.
The office, currently being renovated, is located on Legion Drive and South Jefferson streets, next to Dr. Dilip Unnikrishnan’s medical clinic.
Stafford, a graduate of the Indiana University School of Medicine, recently completed his three-year residence in Carbondale, Ill.
A Caldwell County Hospital effort to recruit new physicians to the community landed both Stafford and Dr. Jami Perry, whose clinic, Perry Family Medical, opened in mid-September.
Stafford said the area’s natural appeal helped seal the deal.
“My primary goal in finding a place to practice was to find someplace pretty,” he said.
Caldwell County’s rolling hills, widespread woodlands and proximity to the lake convinced him that he had found his destination. “It really is gorgeous,” he said.
Stafford, his wife and their two children, ages 1 and 3, are now in the process of settling into the community.
The doctor hopes to become active in the community, beyond the walls of his practice.
“I want to get involved in the schools,” he said. “It’s important that health education be an integral part of the curriculum.”
Stafford’s clinic will treat patients of all ages, from children to senior citizens, and a message of prevention will be preached to all comers, he said.
“I take a particular interest in preventive medicine,” he said, “education and counseling on how to avoid future health problems.
“When people come to see me, they’re guaranteed to get a lot of education.”
The clinic will also make good use of electronics, a relatively new development in local medicine.
Both Perry and Stafford are using electronic medical records in their practices, he said.
And with a background in computer science, Stafford said he would also have no qualms in sitting down with a patient, looking up information on a particular condition with them and printing it out.
“I like the whole ‘detective work’ part of it,” he said. “I really kind of enjoy difficult cases where I have to track down and do research. Almost like forensics medicine.”
The clinic itself, with a layout designed by Stafford, will feature four exam rooms.
Stafford said he would begin the practice with a secretary and medical assistant and add another one or two medical assistants as the practice grows.
The location, too, will hopefully be temporary quarters, he said.
When the hospital moves into its new Caldwell Medical Center facility on U.S. 62 West, Stafford hopes to move his offices into a medical office building proposed for the same property.
