Hospitalist’s move to BG offers career opportunities

By NATALIE JORDAN, The Daily News, njordan@bgdailynews.com
Friday, January 2, 2009 11:59 PM CST 
 
Hospitalists with Greenview Regional Hospital are physicians who are specially trained in inpatient care, are on call 24/7 and act as surrogate physicians.

That description now includes Dr. Marty Casebier. He recently became the third hospitalist at the Bowling Green hospital, and for him, it’s a career move that offers a plethora of opportunities.

“A hospitalist is somebody who bases their practice upon location - it’s general medical care in a hospital setting,” he said. “We’re not replacing primary care doctors. We’re an extension of the primary physician. It’s a team approach to medical care. (And) it gives me the opportunity to make our practice better.

As hospitalists, Casebier and his cohorts - Drs. Darren Fentress and Matthew Marshbanks - have several duties, including consultations for surgeons, inpatient management, patient education and discharge planning. Casebier, who’s been in his position for a month now, said so far things have been good.

“Greenview is a good hospital,” he said. “The people are knowledgeable and easy to work with. And I feel needed here.”

A native of Muhlenberg County, Casebier found himself fascinated by the medical field as a freshman in high school - freshman health, to be exact.

“I was fascinated with how the body works,” he said.

He began at Murray State’s pre-med program, continuing medical school at the University of Kentucky and finishing at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University - doing his residency Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville, N.C. He double-boarded in pediatrics - primary care for children - and internal medicine - primary care for adults.

“It was hard choosing if I liked kids or adults better, so I chose both,” he said. “There are a lot of differences, but a lot of similarities, too.”

Before making the transition to Greenview Hospital, he practiced for about 51/2 years at Muhlenberg Community Hospital, serving as a staff physician and director of weekend clinic services. He was a volunteer faculty physician supervisor for University of Kentucky and University of Louisville students, has served on various quality and executive hospital/community committees and is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics.

While his practice in at the Muhlenberg hospital was a busy one, the hospitalists program offered him the opportunity to spend more time with his family. He said in Muhlenberg he was on call every day - doing his hospital rounds in the morning and his clinical rounds in the afternoon. But the hospitalists model lets him have more time with his wife and two children.

“When I am here I am busy, very busy, but when I am off, I am off completely,” he said. “I am still close enough to in-laws and my parents, and the program here is designed in a way I felt I’d fit in. It’s a step up.”

Hospitalists work solely with patients who have been admitted to the hospital. Casebier said they cover 40 local doctors and have accepted referrals from 122 sources - such as primary care offices and urgent cares - within a 45-mile radius. The fairly new program at Greenview, Casebier said, has been thriving for the past year, one of the reasons he chose to join it.

“It’s not like a company out of Louisville is placing doctors here,” he said. “This is a locally managed program, so people here have a vested interest.”

A fan of hospital medicine, Casebier said he hopes to accomplish several goals while at Greenview; they having a well-run service, patients acknowledging he and his cohorts as their inpatient doctors, and to provide excellent health care.

“Quality health care is important, and this allows me the opportunity to provide the best,” he said.

Casebier said he chose the hospital and program because of its “good reputation” and plans on staying put.

“I like what I do here,” he said. “I don’t go to multiple places. This one spot is where I work.

“My family is here and Bowling Green is home.”