Local news

Dr. Bhatt moving to join Geisinger Medical Group

LOCK HAVEN -- Dr. Praful Bhatt is getting a new address.

After 36 years of practicing pediatrics and adolescent medicine at 72 E. Church St., near the corner of Vesper Street, he will join Geisinger Medical Group at 955 Bellefonte Ave.

His current office practice will officially close Saturday, March 31, and on Monday, April 2, he will move to the Geisinger building, about one mile up the hill.

"I am grateful to the children and families for entrusting me with their health, well-being and comfort over the years," he said.

His career so far has been professionally rewarding, he said, and perhaps his greatest source of personal satisfaction.

He has chosen to align with Geisinger, he said, because of its reputation for caring, excellence and quality patient care.

"I have known the system for all these years, and 99 percent of the referrals I make to pediatric specialists are at Geisinger. I know a whole group of pediatric specialists and they know me. They understand the type of care I offer," he said.

"I have always practiced patient-centered, personalized, family-focused, evidence-based, high-quality care in a friendly environment…. and that will remain the same," he added.

He is also a clinical assistant professor with Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, as well as a clinical associate professor at Lock Haven University with the Physician Assistant program.

Dr. Praful U. Bhatt, M.D., FAAP, was recruited to come to this city by a former Lock Haven Hospital administrator, the late Al Speth, and Dr. Bhatt has been an active part of the local medical community ever since.

He fits well in his current office building, just as it has come to fit him over the years.

The building had housed Dr. Edward Hoberman's practice in the past so it has a long-standing reputation as a medical office, in addition to a convenient location.

As Dr. Bhatt's office, it has a comfortable, almost home-like atmosphere, with a multitude of patient photos on the walls. A painting by Ron McGinness, based on some of those patient photos, hangs in the entrance lobby.

A Bhatt family portrait hangs in the waiting room to assure patients' families that their pediatrician "respects all families," he said.

Educational brochures are available on racks, and educational videos are played on the television.

When Dr. Bhatt renovated the building, he talked to local advisors and chose a historical style for the colors and design. He also placed his last name on the exterior, reflecting in a tasteful way a bygone era when buildings often bore their owners' names.

His wish is to see the building continue the legacy of health care and become the home of another doctor's medical practice, or possibly a dentist's or optometrist's office.

The process of moving means leaving the building behind and dealing appropriately with the multitude of patient records that have accumulated - the doctor has seen two to three generations of the same families since 1982.

His active patients, those seen over the past five years, number 2,500, including many from Amish families.

"Children and families have entrusted me with their health, well-being, comfort all these years, essentially giving me the privilege to observe their growth, development, and return to good health from illness, and allowing me to share in their joys," he said.

A letter and a release form have been sent to all the patients, telling them about the change. Families may choose to continue with Dr. Bhatt at the Geisinger building or find another pediatrician. The release form allows the doctor's office to either transfer the records with him as he joins Geisinger or send them to the family's new pediatrician.

Dr. Bhatt was happy to report that almost all patients have chosen to stay with him, and those who are going elsewhere are doing so because their insurance will not cover visits with a Geisinger pediatrician.

"This was not an easy decision to make," he said. "A lot of heartfelt consideration went into it."

The administrative, regulatory requirements that medical offices must meet seem to be ever-increasing, and they take up time that could otherwise be spent on patient care, he said.

"Insurance companies, you can say, are in the driver's seat. You almost have to have a full-time person checking on the status of claims," he said.

He will be bidding farewell to two staff members when he moves to Geisinger, although he hopes they may be hired by the medical group sometime in the future, when positions become available.

Lisa Spangler, LPN, has been with Dr. Bhatt's practice for 25 years. The receptionist, Barbara Billings, has been working in the office for about eight years.

"The families have been very comfortable with both," Dr. Bhatt said.

His wife, Aruna Bhatt, has been his administrative assistant.

"He is so dedicated to his patients, all along for these many years," she said.

"My phone calls were forwarded to our house," Dr. Bhatt said. "Patients know that and they find that reassuring. My family never felt that was a burden."

"Patients don't call for little things. They call when they need advice," Mrs. Bhatt said.

All three of their children have grown up to become physicians. Their older son, Saurin, works in the emergency department at Cleveland Clinic, daughter Nirali is a retina specialist at the University of Pennsylvania, and son Binoy is an anesthesiologist and will finish his residency in Washington, D.C. in June. Two of them are married to physicians, and there are three grandchildren, with a fourth on the way.

Dr. Bhatt is in good health, he reports, but will probably retire one day. In joining with Geisinger, he is linking his patients with readily available resources and a system that can offer evening and Saturday hours.

"This way, my patients will have a path, an opportunity to connect to a large system that has a good reputation for patient care," he said.

He is well known in the community, and has achieved some national recognition as well.

He lead the pediatrics department at Lock Haven Hospital for 35 years -- until just recently when the hospital became UPMC Lock Haven and that department was closed.

He teaches the pediatrics module for LHU's Physician Assistant Program and has done so since the program started. He does the same at the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport.

As a practicing pediatrician, he has contributed to research through Boston University's research network. From 2009 to 2012, he provided real-time assessments of influenza vaccination rates in children and was the first author on many publications related to this study.

He has also submitted papers and been a presenter at national meetings.

He does not seem ready to retire.

"There are a lot of memories associated with this practice," he said as he walked down the hallway, pointing out photos of his patients -- "This little girl now brings her children here… This little girl is now a physician."

The move to Geisinger will allow him to remain an active force in medicine and to continue his professional relationships with his local patients.

Many of them hope he will do so for years to come.