By Chelsea Hadaway
chadaway@scbiznews.com
Published June 7, 2010

Several long-running threads weave through Surgical Associates of Charleston, but it’s the thread between doctor and patient that is paramount.

The practice has grown since its inception 70 years ago in Charleston, and it has maintained its reputation as a family-run business as well as its personal relationship with clients.

“One lady has been seeing Dr. Cathcart since the 1950s and still has her medical records from then,” said David Baird, a surgeon there since 1991.

Surgical Associates of Charleston — comprising Drs. Hank West (from left), David Baird, Bo Blessing, Telfair Parker, David Lucas, George Grice and Casey Fitts — is the oldest private general surgery practice in town. (Photo/Surgical Associates)

Surgical Associates of Charleston Year founded: 1939 Number of surgeons: 7 Types of surgeries performed: Abdominal, intestinal, breast, hernia, gall bladder, reflux, oncology. Physicians trained in: Atlanta, Nashville, Tenn., New Zealand, Jackson, Miss., New Orleans, Mobile, Ala.

Founded by Dr. Edward Parker in 1939, Surgical Associates grew to include his brother, Dr. William Prioleau, as well as Drs. Manly Stallworth, Robert Cathcart, Alton Brown and Harry Gregorie, who is Baird’s father-in-law.

As the first surgeons have retired and the mantle has been passed, the practice has stayed in family hands. Dr. Telfair Parker, the son of the founder, is currently a senior partner.

“You don’t find many places with such a succession plan,” said Dr. Bo Blessing.

Blessing grew up in Charleston around the families of the founding surgeons and was friends with their children. After his residency in New Orleans and externship in New Zealand, he returned to Charleston and joined Surgical Associates.

“There’s value in attaching myself to that reputation,” he said.

And the readily available knowledge of the other surgeons is invaluable. “There’s a vast wealth of surgical experience in the group.”

This leads to a lot of collaboration and discussions, Blessing said.

Baird agreed; he had the chance to work with Gregorie before he retired.

“You learn so much from people who have been in the business for a while,” Baird said. “There are so many practical things you can’t learn in a book.”

Baird attended the Medical University of South Carolina, where he met his wife, Rebecca, one of Gregorie’s seven daughters. After the pair finished medical training in Atlanta and Nashville, Rebecca Baird wanted to return to Charleston.

Having the option of working at her father’s practice made the move an easy one, David Baird said.

“There’s a lot of meaning being part of a family business — there’s a lot of pride,” he said. “You put forth more effort to maintain that good reputation of the business.

“I see patients every day who ask me about Dr. Gregorie,” he said.

That personal touch is an important part of the doctor-patient relationship, he said. The way medicine is heading now, much of that connection is lost, he said, but it’s still a foundational ingredient of Surgical Associates.

Patients don’t get shuffled among different doctors, and the relationship between doctor and patient isn’t separated by layers of personnel, he said.

Another component of the practice’s success can be attributed to the quality of the staff and the low turnover rate.

No surgeon has ever left the practice except to retire. Even Baird’s secretary has been there for 25 years.

“Picking the right people has been important,” Baird said. Since Charleston is such a desirable place to work, the practice receives a lot of applicants, Baird said. That allows for selective hiring.

“They are well-trained and hand-picked to be able to blend into our practice,” he said.

The surgeons benefit from the autonomy and flexibility that come with private practice, as opposed to a hospital setting.

“We don’t have to go through the chain of command,” Baird said. There aren’t as many hoops to go through, he said.

Although the state of health care is changing around the country and the complexity of working in private practice keeps increasing, Surgical Associates is making sure it doesn’t compromise patient care.

It’s keeping an open mind about working in a larger group, such as a hospital, but maintaining the core values of the family-run business.

“We don’t want to change the way we practice or who we see,” Baird said. “We have a good model providing excellent surgical care.”

Reach Chelsea Hadaway at 843-849-3142. For reprints of this or other articles, contact Bennett Parks at 843-849-3126 or bparks@scbiznews.com.