Recently one of the finest doctors in our state retired after 32 years at Concord Hospital. David F. Green was always a wise counselor and a skilled surgeon at Concord Urology who got me through my prostate cancer 12 years ago.
He represents all that is good about a doctor who participates in groups like the Friends Program and the Chamber of Commerce, not for self interest, but because of his love for the Concord area and his strong commitment to giving back to the community.
My wife, Debra, and I worked on many hospital fundraisers, and Dave Green was always willing to pitch in on the planning and attend the events. Only a handful of other doctors were as active to help out the hospital they staffed.
In days of old, physicians, like today’s lawyers, had independent practices that depended on their ability to connect with each other for referrals and to build relationships in the community to attract and retain patients. For better or worse those days are largely gone for physicians. Driven by external forces, most physicians are employees of hospitals or large group practices.
Years back most physicians lived in the communities where they worked. Now many doctors at Concord Hospital work in shifts and may live 50 or more miles away or even in another state, so future Dave Greens will be hard to come by.
Having attended Penn State’s College of Medicine from 1975 to 1979, Dave did his four-year residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital and joined the staff at Concord Hospital in 1987.
Longtime Concord Hospital President Mike Green (no relation to David) told me of his experience with the man he named chief medical officer at Concord Hospital: “I had the pleasure of working with Dave for much of my career at Concord Hospital, as a prominent member of the medical staff, as president of the medical staff and as the chief medical officer for the organization. David could have easily joined the medical staff at a top academic medical center but, fortunately for the greater Concord community (and the state), he chose to practice urology here.”
He still serves on the board of the American Urologic Association, which is a tremendous honor and reflects the high esteem in which he is held nationally.
But just as important in the often hierarchical doctor and nurse power differential is how the staff felt about Dave. Surgical technician Sally Dame told me: “His education of residents is second to none.”
A surgical nurse told me about Dr. Green’s “wonderful sense of humor” and the respect he held for his team. “After hundreds of cases with him he was one of my favorite docs to work with. But everyone who scrubbed with him had to stand on stools because the bed had to be higher to accommodate his 6-foot, 6-inch height.”
Once again, a nurse well summed up her years of experience with Dave Green in these words: “He always believed in the best in care.”
(Chuck Douglas is a longtime patient of Dr. Green and a lawyer in Concord.)