Traveling doctor, IU alumnus still practicing after 50 years

MONTPELIER, Ind. – Early in his career, the IU alumnus known locally as “the country doctor” regularly made house calls to treat ailing patients.\nToday, nearly a half-century later, his warmth toward patients continues unchanged, although much in the field of medicine has drastically changed. \nThe story of the “country doctor” – Dr. Richard Gene Ingram – began at age 5 when a small-town boy realized he knew how he wanted to spend the rest of his life.\n“We had a family doctor, and I admired him enormously,” Ingram said. “I can’t ever remember wanting to be anything else.” \nIngram attended college to pursue his chosen career. He graduated from the IU School of Medicine in 1957. \nThe year 1957 was especially important for Ingram. He not only graduated from medical school, but also got married. He will celebrate his 50th wedding anniversary with his wife Carol on June 15. \nFollowing an internship with Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie, Ingram began his practice in Montpelier, Ind. He later earned the nickname “the country doctor” when he started making house calls to patients as far as 35 miles away, a practice that he continues today despite being 71 years old. \nIngram said that he has delivered more than 1,000 babies and has treated thousands of patients during the span of his career as a general practitioner. He continues to run his practice, although his daughter and son-in-law, both doctors, see most of the patients.\nOver the course of his career, Ingram has witnessed vast changes in the field of medicine but none greater than what he calls the addition of “third-party” insurance providers.\n“When I started, I was truly an independent,” Ingram said. But now doctors have to hassle with insurance companies including preferred provider organizations, health maintenance organizations and Medicare, he said. \nIngram also works once a week as a “semiretired” doctor at the Blackford Community Hospital in Hartford City, Ind. Coworkers said he can be intimidating at first, but actually has a warm and professional presence. He often sings Ray Charles’ hit song “Georgia on My Mind” to one co-worker named Georgia.\nAway from work, Ingram hunts big game, a hobby that started when he was 10 years old and shot a rabbit in his neighbor’s flower garden. Since that time, he has hunted bear and deer in the western United States, Canada and, on one occasion, South Africa. Several mounted animals and guns now adorn the walls of his living room. Also an avid fisherman, he travels to a lake near Jacksonville, Fla., every February to fish. \nFaith also plays an important role in Ingram’s life.\nDespite being “skeptical” of religion throughout his youth, Ingram became a devout Christian and started a church in his own living room after unsuccessfully finding a satisfactory church with “meat” in the sermons. \nBeginning as a weekly Bible study in his home 36 years ago, the group flourished into the congregation of the Grace Community Church. The church is located along the dead-end lane that leads to Ingram’s home. \nEven with all the positive achievements in Ingram’s life, he has also experienced some obstacles. \nDoctors diagnosed him with cancer twice – bladder cancer five years ago and rectal cancer in February 2006. He underwent radiation treatments and chemotherapy for both cancers and continues to recover from the rectal cancer.\n“They always say that doctors make the worst patients, but I think that I had it easier than most,” Ingram said. “I was more calm because I understood what was going on.” \nIn spite of his age, Ingram hopes to stay active with fishing and hunting trips. But above all, he hopes to continue to treat patients. \n“It’s an opportunity to be with people in times of great crisis,” Ingram said.