Physicians

An article in the May 28, 1937 edition of The Catonsville Herald and Baltimore Countian reported on the heroic effort by an area doctor to save the life of a little boy who had fallen into a backyard goldfish pond. Charles T. Cockey , two and one-half year old son of Mr. and Ms. Charles T. Cockey , was found unconscious in a shallow goldfish pool on the grounds of his home on Thursday afternoon of this week, and was revived by a physician after he apparently had ceased to breathe.

An article in the May 4, 1912 edition of The Argus reported on the latest incident in a frightening series of fatal shootings in the area. The residents of Catonsville are alarmed over a number of valuable dogs which have been shot and killed within the last two weeks and efforts are being made to apprehend the guilty persons. Several days ago, a valuable setter dog belonging to Dr. Walter A. Low was killed with a shotgun. ***** Gudgeon fishing along the Patapsco river at Relay has caused a flurry of excitement among the anglers, and every day this week the banks of the river were lined with fisherman.

In a small, rural, rust-belt town there sits a nondescript office building not far from the town square. The building is an unassuming amalgam of storefronts, offices and vacancies. Near one of the offices, there hangs a shingle: "Psychiatrist's Office. " Patients arrive faithfully, dutifully awaiting the chance to receive comprehensive, compassionate care and the most appropriate medicine for their maladies. My mother runs this clinic, striving to provide the best and most cost-effective medicine possible.

The state of Maryland is seeking doctors willing to practice in needy areas of the state, in exchange for up to $50,000 to repay student loans. The Maryland Loan Assistance Repayment Program was launched in 1996 and 157 primary care doctors have gone through the Program. Currently, 30 are employed in Baltimore city and county and Anne Arundel, Garrett and Worcester county. “Having a sufficient supply of primary care physicians across the state is critical to improving the health status of Maryland citizens,” said Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, secretary of the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene , in a statement.

Dr. Mark R. Geier, a Rockville doctor accused of improperly treating children with autism, has been ordered by the state Board of Physicians to stop practicing medicine while his license is suspended. The doctor's license was suspended in April after the board concluded his hormone and chelation therapy endangered the children in his care. But the board in a new "cease and desist" order this week accused the doctor of refilling prescriptions for at least three patients in violation of the suspension.

The University of Maryland School of Medicine will use a five-year $877,000 grant  on a program to increase the number of students who enter primary care fields. The school said Monday it will create a primary care track that will allow students to work one-on-one with faculty from family medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine and other primary care specialties. The new program is being developed as health care reform is expected to put further pressure on primary care doctors.

The Maryland Board of Physicians, which has faced scrutiny in recent months because of its backlog of cases and other problems, is getting a new leader, state health officials said Wednesday. Carole J. Catalfo will begin work as the executive director Feb. 21, according to Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, secretary of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. "Carole Catalfo is the right person at the right time for the Board of Physicians," Sharfstein said. "She brings both deep experience in regulatory compliance and professional oversight and a fresh perspective on the challenges facing the board.

Dr. Scott Rifkin says the Baltimore Jewish Times "has a long and distinguished history and deserves to be saved" as its parent company is mired in a contentious bankruptcy. So he did what he's known to do, when he feels the time is right: He jumped in. Rifkin, 52, an Owings Mills physician and health care entrepreneur who is the managing partner for Mid-Atlantic Health Care LLC, has taken the lead in a group of investors proposing to become majority owners of the Times' publisher, Alter Communications Inc. — a plan to which a key creditor has objected.

Two doctors who Maryland authorities say botched an abortion last year in Elkton have been indicted on murder charges - in what appears to be the first use of the state's fetal homicide law involving a medical professional performing surgery. "We're in uncharted territory," Cecil County State's Attorney Edward D.E. Rollins said Friday. He declined to comment further because the indictment remains sealed until the suspects are arraigned in Maryland. They were arrested Wednesday in New Jersey and in Utah.

Allow me to reduce your 110 column inches on Mark Midei to the crucial one: "Reviewers saw 30 percent narrowings when Dr. Midei saw 90 percent. " ("Mark Midei fights for medical license, exoneration," Dec. 10.) The rest is rhetoric. A key role of primary care physicians is to prevent unnecessary procedures by specialists. This is impossible if the patient is sucked through an ER evaluation and stenting procedure like a goose through a jet engine, without ever calling the patient's physician.