Medical Tourism: A Tale of Healing in Georgia’s Blue Ridge
The following was written by a Fannin Regional patient who discovered she needed surgery while on vacation. Her views of the services offered by smaller, rural hospitals, were changed forever. This article ran in the Tifton Scene.
By Christine Tibbetts
Wrapping surgery into dreamy destinations far from home gives a whole new dimension to vacationing.
Intentional or disruptive, medical tourism presents opportunities to heal well, and embrace parts of the world in new ways.
Plenty of people research medical care in other lands, and leave the country for specific treatments and procedures. Traveling early, and lingering afterwards allows them cultural experiences too. Mine, however, is a tale of unexpected medicine in the mountains. North Georgia mountains to be specific. This too presented me with opportunities to adjust some preconceived notions once emergency “gotta do it right away” surgery was done.
I know tons of tips to pinpoint delightful adventures in Blue Ridge. Until last Fourth of July, the only thing I knew about the local hospital was how to drive past on my way from apple picking to trout fishing. Or to stop in the county recycling center right next door to Fannin Regional Hospital to deal sustainably with the remnants of a weekend in a Blue Ridge mountain cabin.
Georgia Trend magazine declared Fannin Regional Hospital a Top 20 small hospital in Georgia last year, but when I read that report I had not imagined myself in its trajectory. Now, I know skilled nurses and a remarkable surgeon at Fannin Regional. Nice feeling to know I’ll recognize them on walking paths to waterfalls or the scenic railroad.
Emergency surgery popped in my lap Fourth of July weekend when the lazy life along a trout stream in Georgia’s Blue Ridge was my intention. No time to weigh the options. No time to ask for a helicopter to a medical center with more than 50 beds. No time to research the MD skills.
I felt nervous and perhaps guilty overhearing the support team for the surgeon was being called back from their evening of July 3 holiday. Doubted they’d appreciate me much.
That was my emergency entry to medicine in the mountains. Stuck.
Turns out I should have rejoiced. The right place at the right time. And it turned out better than okay.
This medical tourism tale becomes insight into choosing the way you want to live and how you want to raise your children. My lesson? Never again assume big-city surgeons have the best credentials.
My doctor in this mountain hospital grew up in the mountains – Pickens County with connections in Gilmer County which you might know as Ellijay or the little Talking Rock community. First degree: mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech.
The Medical College of Georgia was next, and then general surgery studies at the University of Texas Southwestern School of Medicine in Dallas. After that—a general surgery residency at Emory.
I was in really good hands, and he was right where he wanted to be with his profession and his family.
Mine is a two-part surgery and I’m counting on the wonders of laparoscopic surgery again.
Dr. Nathan Kincaid is his name, with the Blue Ridge Medical Group, offices attached to Fannin Regional Hospital. And, with intention, I am returning there.
PS. I find this interesting too. In our era of opioid crises, I experienced major surgery, hospital days and no opioids. Opportunity for pain, but addressed without narcotics.