Comber doctor who makes house calls receives award for service
Friends, family and patients packed the Lakeshore town council as local doctor, Raymond Anderson, received the council award from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.
The award is given out four times a year by the college. Dr. Debroah Hellyer presented the awards to Anderson. She said it reflects on physicians who are active in Ontario and how they provide service to patients in their community.
The college said it received letters talking about Anderson, explaining all the work he's done and that he's available to patients 24 hours, seven days a week. Hellyer said the college immediately felt like he deserved the award.
Anderson still makes house calls to his patients in the county. He said he feels honoured to receive the award and was amazed by the number of people in attendance for him. The Town of Lakeshore also recognized his dedication and service to the community.
"I didn't expect quite the number that was there and certainly from some of the distances some of them came I was surprised," he said.
The doctor and his wife moved to Comber in 1975 after he graduated, to fulfil a two-year requirement from a bursary he received. By the time the two years were up, he had a full practice and no reason to leave.
At age 70, his wife may want him to slow down, but said he "still has a few good years left in him."
Through his more than 40 years of service, Anderson said medicine has changed — it's become more technical and the art of medicine has been lost.
"I think the new doctors are probably afraid to get their feet wet as far as going out to see patients and looking after patients in their house," he said. "But there's times that they can't get out into the office and I mean, you can't just send them to emerge if there's a problem. You go out and you see them and you look after them at home."
A special call
Anderson remembers a time during a blizzard when he called on a county to see if they could send a plow driver out to help get a patient to the hospital.
"The fellow had a fractured skull and was diabetic. I couldn't keep him at the office. So that was an interesting night,"
He fondly remembers when he used to deliver babies. He doesn't do that anymore but said he does enjoy being able to go out and see patients at their homes.
Busy days
His wife Suzanne works as the office manager of her husband's practice where he still works seven days a week. He spends weekends calling patients and making visits to the hospital.
The day he received the award, she said he was up early to get to an operating room. Anderson got back to the office around 3:00 p.m. so he could see some patients before they went to the award ceremony. By 6:30 p.m. he still hadn't had dinner because he had been so busy.
"I just want him to slow down a bit," she said. "I think at 70 after all these years, he can try and chill out and not have to work as many hours."
When retirement does come around, Suzanne said it'll be tough for his patients.
"I know they don't want him to go, because he goes above and beyond to look after his patients."
