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A good family care physician becomes an extension of the family“The kids know him and he knows us. He gets to know our likes and dislikes. He knows what we expect, and because we know him well, we can be more open with him and we don’t feel like we’re talking to a stranger,” Linda Osborne on the value of having one doctor treat her entire family.Medical Center family practitioner Kenneth Dirlam, M.D., is not a member of New Ulm’s Osborne family, but he’s about as close as any one person could ever get. After delivering all but one of Linda and Scott’s eight children, administering medical treatment and advice for many years, learning about family failures, achievements and milestones, Dirlam knows more about the Osbornes than perhaps even the family members themselves. Scott was a young boy when his mother Dorothy, who herself is still a patient of Dirlam’s, began taking her son to the see the then-new family practice physician. Sixteen years ago, after they were married and just before the birth of their first child, Justina, Linda began receiving obstetrical care from Dirlam. It’s these kinds of long-lasting relationships that allow the medical center’s 13 family practice physicians to provide the highest level of and most beneficial health care to their patients. With eight active children, ranging in age from 15 to just 2 1/2 months, the family regularly finds themselves visiting his office. “With the little kids, when I say we’re going to the doctor, they ask ‘Dr. Dirlam?’” Linda said. “They know him and he knows us. He gets to know our likes and dislikes. He knows what we expect, for instance, we like having things explained to us. And because we know him well, we can be more open with him and we don’t feel like we’re talking to a stranger.” As much as Dirlam enjoys seeing new patients, there are advantages to treating patients over a long period of time, seeing all the members of a family and even caring for multiple generations of patients. “The familiarity and continuity is the huge benefit,” Dirlam said. “It’s so much easier to take care of patients you’ve known for a time. You get a feel for how illness and stress affects them and their family. It’s one part of my job to make a scientific medical diagnosis, but another part of my job is to help people with how that diagnosis affects their lives – if grandma is sick, you’re going to know it because you’re involved and you know the stresses that puts on the family.” Knowing their physician understands them inside and out gives the Osbornes comfort that they’re receiving the best medical care. “Dr. Dirlam is not afraid to ask questions, he seeks help when he doesn’t know the answer and he helps us understand,” Scott said. “For example, I had a problem with my knee and he gave me a Web site where I could find more information on it, if I wanted. He never seems in a rush, he lets us take our time, which makes us comfortable. And he is really concerned that we get an answer and feel satisfied with what he’s done before we leave.” If Dirlam cannot treat one of the Osbornes, although the family managed to come up with an ailment for each letter of the alphabet (except Z) for which they had gone to see him, the doctor seeks out the expertise of other medical center specialists. “A big part of being a family physician is that 95 percent of things you can do yourself because it’s within the scope of your practice,” Dirlam said. “So for the 5 percent of things that are outside the scope of your practice, your job is like being a quarterback directing patients to specialty care, like a cardiologist or a dermatologist, and making sure that handoff is as smooth as possible.” It’s all a part of ensuring that his patients, whether he’s seen them for 2 months or 20 years, get the highest quality of care possible, Dirlam added. But with the patients he’s cared for throughout their lives, there’s another force driving his aim to provide exemplary health care services. “On a personal level, it’s a lot of fun when you know the kids, parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents of a patient,” he explained. “These are people who associate with each other and when you get to take care of the whole crew, it’s kind of neat because you can get involved in the core of the group and get to become in integral part of the family. You get a feeling for where they are in their lives and that makes you a much more valuable asset to them.” For the Osborne family, seven of whose members he brought into the world, that personal connection is even deeper, Dirlam added. “Having delivered their babies and helping raise them, you get vested in their future and want to make sure they get the highest quality of care possible,” he said. That connection, to the Osborne’s, is one of the biggest advantages of having one person meet all of their family’s needs. “He knows us so well and he’s more personable because he knows us,” Linda said. “When we go in, he asks about all the kids and school, he knows all of their names. It’s that personal connection that is so valuable to us.” |
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New Ulm Medical Center
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