Seldovia’s Small Town Doctor Retires
by Jenny Chissus
One key to a successful community is the presence of medical care. As a Realtor, this is a question often asked by buyers looking to either relocate or invest in our beautifully situated community by the sea. I have always been proud to say that we have a great doctor, who lives in Seldovia full-time and serves our community alongside our volunteer Fire and EMS crews.
At the end of April, the question may be answered quite differently. Our resident doctor, Dr. Larry Reynolds will be retiring after 40 years of service to the community of Seldovia! I wanted to sit down with Doc and Cheryl (his wife and office manager) to go over this big transition for Seldovia, and for them!
It all began in 1974, when Doc and Cheryl were living in the San Francisco area in California. As Cheryl tells it, she had grown up playing outdoors and living and loving that outdoor lifestyle, nature, the works. As she grew, she saw the build up of the area, and her peaceful open spaces and woods were replaced by buildings and more buildings, and the fresh air became polluted, and she knew that she wanted to get back to a healthy environment. After Doc’s residency, and Cheryl’s nursing education, they were both researching areas to go, where they could be out in nature, open a small practice to serve a small community, and Alaska had a lot of appeal.
They had some good friends in Fairbanks who invited them up to visit – so they packed their car and set off for their Alaska adventure in January! They followed the ski runs as they drove north, and the skiing got better and better – the further north they went! They stayed with friends in Fairbanks while they studied Alaska, and the demographics of the many small towns, rainfall, climate, population, etc.
Doc really liked the idea of Homer, so they visited and met with Doctor Eneboe who was the only practicing physician in Homer at the time, and he didn’t want a partner,but he exclaimed as he pointed across the bay: “Go over there to Seldovia, they don’t have a doctor and you can take that place off my hands!”
Doc and Cheryl flew over to Seldovia with Bob Gruber, and toured the old hospital. At that time, it was a leaky building, but cared for and outfitted with an X-ray machine, patient beds, examination tables, medicine cabinets – basically outfitted by the Hospital Guild. When they showed up, the volunteers, Jean Gain, Gladys Elvsaas and Elaine Giles were there unpacking brand new pots and pans! The Reynolds were pretty excited about the idea of Seldovia, so they went up and spoke with the previous doctor, Millie McMurtry up in Anchorage. She gave them a definite “Don’t do it, you won’t have a life!” talk as she expressed the demands of a small town doctor’s lifestyle.
Doc and Cheryl, thought long and hard, and decided to take the chance and begin a practice in Seldovia. The City of Seldovia offered them the use of the hospital facility and equipment and would provide utilities, water, sewer and power for the incoming doctor! This was a perfect match from the beginning! Much of the equipment from as early as 1939 is still in use at the clinic today! Things were made of metal, not the plastic disposable type of equipment as is common today.
At the time, the Reynolds lived above the jail house, located where the clinic is now, and they worked in the hospital a few blocks away. One funny thing Doc mentioned was that at the time, they lived above the jail and worked in the hospital, and the police lived in the hospital and worked at the jail/police station! They would pass each other, morning and night going back and forth between buildings! But McMurtry had exclaimed “Don’t live at the clinic, as folks will be knocking on your door day and night!” so they managed to always keep home and business separate over the past 40 years! Doc and Cheryl raised two children in Seldovia. Jenny and Sean, who both live out of state, but they are pleased to be grandparents to three little ones!
During the 40 years in business, it has always been just the two of them, though at one time they did hire a secretary, but found that what worked best for them to run the business on their own. Cheryl has assisted in many facets of the business, not only as the administrator of the office, but she was the first EMT in Seldovia! Cheryl knew that if she could handle the administration aspect of the business, and manage the day-to-day office maintenance – then Doc could focus on continuing education in the medical field, keeping up with new information and doing the research required to effectively care for their patients. Together – they would be a team able to best serve this community. All along, it has been a real team effort – as one was not capable of managing the job without the other.
Life as a doctor has changed quite a bit from the beginning days! Originally, when research required gathering information from other sources, Doc would have to pay $10 an article for the printing and sending (via USPS) of the articles from medical papers and journals. Now, he has a computer and the internet, and so much is available immediately – so that has been a huge improvement in his ability to serve his patients. A difficult change in the past 40 years has been the management of billing and insurers. Cheryl has to deal with all the documents, red tape, etc to manage insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, etc. It has become a huge time drain on their business, as the insurers are not helpful like they used to be in making the process simple or “user-friendly” for patients or doctors. This is a difficult issue in the medical field everywhere today, and takes away from the doctor/clinic’s ability to spend time caring for patients. This has been a very frustrating part of their practice.
Doc is looking forward to retirement, and they have no plans to leave the Seldovia community, as they both love it here. They love being outside, gardening, etc in the summers, though Doc does say there’s many “Bugs and Bears” when enjoying the great outdoors during the summer months! He totally enjoys the winter months, though his summary was “Wet, white-out and windy”! Doc and his friends do enjoy fantastic skiing in the area, and he is looking forward to doing more of that as his time is freed up. He mentioned that one of the things that he will miss the most about his practice is the intellectual research and challenge of staying current on medical issues. He is not sure what he will do to replace that curiosity and desire to problem solve.
When I asked Doc about the plans for the building and business, he mentioned that the City is looking at options, and is considering a PA to run the clinic, and the Seldovia Village Tribe may be interested in this location. They just don’t know what will happen. If someone is interested in starting a practice in Seldovia, they should connect with the Seldovia City Manager Tim Dillon at 907-234-7643.
Doc replied when I asked him about any last thoughts, and he responded “Its been fun! Alaskans are so independent, and we have loved being a part of it all. In Seldovia, folks are more independent and do things for themselves, from fixing doorknobs to boat engines. A perfect example of Seldovia ingenuity was when Keith Seville burned out a wheel bearing in his pickup as he was coming into town, pulled over and went into the bushes where there was an old trailer, pulled out the bearing, replaced it and drove into town!”
When I asked Cheryl what the best thing about serving Seldovia, she explained “It really is all about a philosophy, and that is, that we want to make people better, make healthcare affordable, to offer care to those who wouldn’t have it otherwise, and make the world a better place, in our own small way. It has always been that philosophy that has driven us, more than personal wealth or gain.”
Seldovia has been fortunate to have Doc and Cheryl in Seldovia, managing our healthcare needs, and working all kinds of crazy hours on EMS calls! I can say from my own family experience, that Doc has been exceptional in his tender care of our family. Doc always was authentic in his care and concern, and generous with his time and expertise. As a mom, I always appreciated his call back after an appointment to check in on the status of the sickness or injury, making sure that the remedy was working, the pain was subsiding, whatever the issue was. He wasn’t just a clinic doctor, I always felt he was our Family Doctor. I’m sure there are many families in town who feel the same way. These are difficult shoes to fill!
Thank You Doc and Cheryl for your faithful service to Seldovia! We appreciate you and wish you the very best in your retirement and new adventures to come!
Seldovia Time
An unsung hero and a very special man.
Jenny, I sincerely appreciate you great story and your ability to capture the heart of who we are. Your reporting is remarkable! Thank you for catching a bit of our souls.
The community has appreciated Doc’s good service over the years. We never could have had EMT’s in town, without a sponsoring Doctor, which service Dr Reynolds has performed since the inception of the EMT Squad.
Doc didn’t mention that he was chosen as the Chamber’s Citizen of the Year in 1988, in recognition of his many services to the community. Congratulations on your retirement, Doc.. Best wishes and thank you for your many years of service.