Last week, we celebrated Dr. Don Bailey’s legacy in East Carroll Parish, after he spent more than 40 years practicing medicine in the community.
Many young people do not recall a time when doctors were like a part of our family. They knew all of our family members due to the fact that they had treated generations.
That was during a time when doctors owned the practices where they worked. In today’s world, all of our local doctors work at clinics that are owned by hospitals. They are employees as opposed to being the owners of the business, and there is a big difference.
Dr. Bailey was the last of that type of doctor in our community. I remember several doctors during my early childhood that had those types of practices, such as Doctors Terral, Harris, Paris, and Cain. Just like Dr. Bailey, they also lived in the community and were a part of things that were going on in the community.
Dr. Bailey was my doctor since I was a teenager, and, to be honest, I wasn’t comfortable going to anyone else until he sold his practice to the East Carroll Parish Hospital in 2003 and they brought in Joe Kight, and, later, Amy Hale to work in his office as nurse practitioners.
Dr. Bailey knew almost everything about the health of his patients. He would see you in the local stores or at government meetings and inquire about the things he told you to do at your last visit with him.
I found out that I was a diabetic at 29, and I didn’t have health insurance and therefore was unable to get the insulin I needed due to the high cost of that particular medication. Dr. Bailey gave me enough insulin from the sample medications that the pharmaceutical companies left at his office to help me get through the month.
I have spoken with other people in town who were his patients, and they have shared similar stories about the kindness that he showed to them over the years. I have known this man for most of my life, and I still didn’t understand the origin behind his love and concern for others until now.
He grew up in a humble family with limited financial means. People assume that it’s simple to become a doctor if one is smart and willing to stay in school for years and years, but Dr. Bailey’s story is likely similar to many people who want to be doctors. It costs a lot of money to go to medical school, and the average family simply does not have it for their children who want to become doctors.
Dr. Bailey took a break from medical school to work as a pharmacist to save money for school. His compassion towards others is a direct result of his faith and his knowledge from personal experiences that life can overwhelm people at times and they might need help.
Dr. Bailey has had a history of not only caring about the medical well being of the people in this parish, but he was very active in trying to make sure that the hospital was able to obtain financial stability even when he was in private practice and wasn’t technically working for them.
In today’s world, it will be difficult to have anyone to fill his shoes. I don’t think any of our medical providers in town live here and are a part of the community the way Dr. Bailey was. We have a new doctor (Dr. Dana Pippin), and hopefully she can restore that intimate relationship that we once were used to when we lived among the doctors who treated us.
Dr. Bailey never had to tell us that he was a man of strong faith, because he did as God expects his children to do and practiced it in his everyday walk among people.
I appreciate every medical provider we have in our parish, and we are blessed to have them, but there will never be another Dr. Bailey.
But hey, that’s just my opinion!
