Family Medicine

An article in yesterday's editions of The Sun on primary care doctors incorrectly described a $1,100 medical test, an echocardiogram.+ The Sun regrets the errors.Bill Welder knew AIDS up and down by the time he graduated from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1991, and he could recognize any number of exotic cancers. He had only a dim idea, though, what chicken pox looked like, and a case of teen-age acne might stump him.These might have been inconsequential holes in a young doctor's medical education were he planning a career in immunology or oncology.

APPOINTMENTS Dr. David L. Stewart, a public health specialist and expert on hypertension and diabetes in African-Americans, has been named chairman of the department of family medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Stewart, who has served as acting chairman of the department since 2003, also becomes chief of family medicine at the University of Maryland Medical Center. A veteran researcher, Stewart has served as the principal investigator for the Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Agreement for the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene since 1992.

Dr. Leland Bates Stevens, a retired Northeast Baltimore family physician who once charged a half-dollar for an office visit and eschewed appointments during more than 45 years of medical practice, died of pneumonia Sunday at Beebe Medical Center in Lewes, Del. The former Towson resident was 90. Born on a farm near Kent County's Millington, he walked three miles each day to a one-room schoolhouse. "My father grew up with kerosene lamps because there was no electricity on the farm. He bathed in a tub by the fire, and he ate food his parents grew," said his daughter, Paula A. Sparks of Millersville.

Dr. Harry L. Knipp, whose family had been associated with family medicine in West Baltimore and Catonsville for 110 years and who treated generations of families, died Friday of an intestinal disease at his home in Hedgesville, W.Va. The former longtime Ten Hills resident was 87. Dr. Knipp was born at his grandfather's house, at Fremont Avenue and Lanvale Street, where his father George A. Knipp and grandfather Harry E. Knipp practiced medicine together. The Knipps have been practicing medicine — 11 family members have been physicians —since pre-Revolutionary War days.

The music of the Washington Strings, a favorite at White House dinners, set the stage for the gala 80th birthday party for one of the world's best-known vintners, Robert Mondavi.Believe it or not, the celebration took place at the Baltimore National Aquarium, where Mr. Mondavi and his daughter, Marcie, joined members of the newly founded Maryland Chapter of the American Institute of Wine and Food for a delightful evening. Mondavi and his friend Julia Child are the founders of this international organization.

Rush, rush, rush. No one has enough time anymore. We hurry to work, zip through the supermarket and dash to the drugstore.That's where speed kills. Many dispensing errors occur because pharmacists are being pressured by customers and managers to work faster. But accuracy may suffer, and that can lead to disaster.We recently received a letter from a frustrated pharmacist: "Please encourage your readers to be more patient at the pharmacy. This is not fast food. We are dispensing powerful drugs instead of hamburgers.

Will Maryland residents have to get used to not having access to the world-class physicians and hospitals that are part of what makes living here so special? This is the question that underpins the urgency of remedying our state's medical liability insurance crisis. The facts are clear: Liability insurance is exceedingly expensive for physicians, nurses, nursing homes and hospitals. Physicians are being forced to stop practicing medicine and consider moving to other states or retiring early, and the number of insurance companies willing to offer medical liability coverage is dwindling.

Dr. Carol Cooper has taken an alternative path to healing the sick and the weary. A graduate of University of Maryland School of Medicine, Dr. Copper has been practicing family medicine for over 20 years. But sensing a frustration in her patients and a need to explore her interest in alternative medicine, Havre de Grace resident Dr. Cooper recently completed an additional 300 hours of training in acupuncture in order to narrow her field of practice to medical acupuncture. “About 15 years ago, I had a back problem and I went to a doctor who practiced acupuncture.

Vernissia Tam gulped down half a glass of champagne at noon Friday and prepared to scream. She was about to find out what kind of doctor she would become, and where she would train. "No peeking," a Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine official told the Class of 2013. "The diplomas aren't printed yet. " After a countdown from 10 that took all of three seconds, Tam and her classmates broke the seals on letters revealing their fates, jumping into one another's arms for an embrace and congratulations.