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Health Care Networks
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r. John Kule is not bragging when he says he was recruited all
over the Carolinas after residency at the Medical University of
South Carolina in Charleston.
He just needs to point out why he
chose the small, rural town of Swansea (and now Aiken) for life
after school. It was his horse.
I couldn't take care of
my horse in Charleston so I sent him to Swansea to a trainer,"
he explains. "Every month I'd be coming up and taking lessons
and seeing how he was doing."
As Dr. Kule was finishing school,
a Swansea doctor died, leaving an opening for him at Raphael Clinic.
That's where this native Pennsylvanian, began practicing conventional
and alternative medicine.
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consider myself a holistic practitioner,"
he says, explaining that he can deliver whatever his patients want.
Most often, that means prescribing conventional therapy for people who want
symptoms relieved.
Occasionally, a patient is interested in more homeopathic
methods, so Dr. Kule will study that patient's family history,
find a pattern of illness and treat the illness, rather than its symptoms.
While most patients prefer the former, he has noticed that many have
become curious about the latter.
Dr. Kule could talk a long
time about the differences and advantages of and conventional medicine,
but wait. A baby is crying. It's his third child, just three weeks old.
He breaks away from the interview, then returns with this comment:
We have some of the best midwives in the country here," he says, adding
that he and his wife, Amy, have had three home deliveries with midwives.
Midwives-- whether lay or nurse-- are just one group of Carolina health
care providers that impress the Kule's. "We're not backwards," he declares.
"We're ahead."
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~ South Carolina has 70 hospitals
and 7,000 physicians in private practice.
~ North Carolina has 90-plus hospitals
and more than 15,000 doctors in private practice.
~ Besides the Medical
University of South Carolina in Charleston and the University of
South Carolina Medical School in Columbia, The Palmetto State is
minutes from the Medical College of Georgia, right across the
state line in Augusta.
~ Four medical schools serve the Tarheel State:
They include Wake Forest Medical School in Winston-Salem, Duke
University Medical School in Durham, UNC School of Medicine at Chapel
Hill, and East Carolina University School of Medicine in Greenville.
~ Health care in the Carolinas is never hard to find. Even the most
rugged frontier family can get treatment within a 30-minute drive.
Helicopter ambulances, digital imaging and telemedicine provide services
to citizens on islands and mountains, in cities and towns.
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"In my opinion, we have talent second to none."
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Both states have military and veterans' hospitals, with the latter
supporting outpatient clinics and nursing homes.
Long-term care
for the frail elderly and chronically ill is available, along with
home health, hospice and adult day care services. Many services for
the elderly can be found in popular retirement areas. Check your local
Council on Aging for specifics.
Health care clinics like those
Dr. Kule is creating in West Columbia and Aiken keep up with both
conventional and alternative trends. Our Pennsylvanian predicts these
one-stop clinics will link family doctors, orthopedists, internists
and pediatricians with expert acupuncturists, chiropractors, massage
therapists and other alternative healers as complementary services to
treat the whole person-- better than either approach alone.
A similar "integrated" practice flourishes in Chapel Hill, NC,
thanks to Dr. Mark Eisen, who suggests the referral service offered by
the Physicians Association for Anthroposophical Medicine at 734-930-9462.
More health care transformation clues: Yoga classes that
were scarce and minimally attended just a few years ago have
waiting lists now. Health/organic grocers are populating the
Carolinas, finally.
"In my opinion, we have talent second to none,"
Dr. Kule upholds. "I get surprised all the time by people providing high
quality health services here."
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Aida Rogers has worked in newspapers, magazines, legal newsletters
and television. USC graduate and Lexington, SC native currently is
managing editor of Sandlapper, The Magazine of South Carolina, for which she
writes a column about the most popular restaurants in The Palmetto State.
Call her with your favorites at (803) 808-1664
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