Because they are such a rare breed, they usually practice in larger communities with bigger hospitals and research universities. Patients from far away will come to them ... and to think we had one sitting right in our midst.

We, as a community, are lucky to have her. She has individually notched up the level of care in Pensacola. She is an unrecognized asset to this community.

She didn't tell anyone in town about it. We just found out because one of my physicians is on the board.

We all come in [after practice] and he leaves. That's kind of crazy. He's not invisible, but it's like he's on the night schedule and we're on the day schedule.

It's not uncommon in this county for existing hospitals not to have enough beds, and we're not even into flu season yet. Anybody who is opposed to a new facility is outright saying that they don't see the bed shortage as a real issue.

We've had to see patients in the hall, and every shift we call hospitals to see what their availability is. The answer almost uniformly is that they're full.