7 minute read
Family medicine — from infants to elders
Newton-Wellesley’s family medicine physicians get to know and care for adults and children alike. As primary care providers, they build lasting relationships, often across generations of families.
When Laura Harrington began looking at possibilities for her and her children’s healthcare more than 20 years ago, family medicine intrigued her. “I liked the idea of having one person get to know our family really well,” she recounts. She gratefully discovered a wonderful option right in her own community: Henry (Rick) D’Angelo, MD, and Newton-Wellesley Family Medicine in Walpole.
“It was just so nice to know that my kids and I could all go to him as our primary care provider,” Laura says. As a mom of four, it made her life far easier to have their care all in one place. At the time, “we lived about 15 minutes away, which worked out beautifully for us.”
Even more, his approach aligned with her values and how she viewed medicine. “Dr. D’Angelo really got to know who we were, what our lifestyle was, and what was important to us,” she explains. Then as now, “he listened really well and was incredibly supportive.”
Being part of Newton-Wellesley and Mass General Brigham has made referrals easy and timely, she says. When needed, “you have access to the best hospital and the best specialists.”
While her children have grown to be young adults, three of four still rely on the Walpole practice.
Taking care of whole families
Dr. D’Angelo has practiced family medicine in Walpole for nearly three decades. He’s spent his entire career as part of NWH’s primary care network. Many of his 2,000 patients—like Laura and her children—have seen him for 20 years or more.
Why family medicine? “As simple as it sounds, to take care of whole families,” he reflects. In his practice, “I see patients of all ages, from 0 to 100,” he adds.
Treating everyone from newborns to seniors enables relationships to grow over time.
Family medicine physicians make up about one third of the 120 primary care providers across NWH’s 10 community-based practices. As one of the broadest specialties in medicine, it requires training in areas ranging from pediatrics to internal medicine to obstetrics and gynecology.
From his days as a resident, Dr. D’Angelo has always valued the breadth of care and the idea of families being central. “We’re here for everyone who comes through our doors and for all aspects of their health,” he says.
Embedded in the community
Marta Mazzawi, MD, joined Dr. D’Angelo as part of Walpole family medicine nine years ago. She now sees patients in the Walpole and Millis offices and serves as medical director for both. “We’re kind of sister practices,” as she puts it, with a team that includes eight physicians and two nurse practitioners.
“Ironically, I was a patient first,” she notes. She’d grown up in Walpole and moved back to town with her own growing family—right next door to her parents. Having long known and respected Newton-Wellesley, she turned to its Walpole practice for her own healthcare. From the start, “I just thought it was very welcoming,” she says. When a job opened up there, she seized the opportunity.
“I really love being part of the community,” Dr. Mazzawi says. Her husband kids her about knowing absolutely everyone in town. To her, it’s one of the advantages of family medicine.
She appreciates the window it offers into the medical and social aspects of patients’ lives. “I get to know their history and the dynamics of everything,” she notes.
Caring for multiple generations
Early on in her medical training, she remembers how one of her mentors cared for four generations of a family at once. It became something of a goal for her. Last year she finally began seeing her own four-generation family of patients.
“I take care of the great grandfather, grandma and grandpa, mom, and her three kids,” Dr. Mazzawi explains. “It’s pretty special.”
It’s not uncommon for Dr. Mazzawi to see three generations of a family. “I take care of some people who have known me since I was five years old,” she smiles to say. “I love that aspect of my work.”
In seeing both parents and children, “I’ll see a mom for strep throat, and she might say, can you just take a look at John’s ear?”
Personally, she’s glad that she doesn’t have to say goodbye to her young patients when they become adults.
Relationships as a constant
What’s changed over time for family physicians? “A lot and not a lot,” Dr. D’Angelo says. “Certainly, how we treat patients has changed,” he adds. Thanks to ongoing advances in care, his older patients now often live longer and healthier lives.
As complexity has increased, it’s become even more important for patients to have someone as a “quarterback” to help them navigate the healthcare system.
“Yet when I’m talking to a patient during a physical, it’s not that different,” he says.
To Dr. Mazzawi, patient relationships will always be at the heart of her work. “My connection to patients hasn’t changed, and I don’t think it ever will,” she says. “If anything, it’s grown because the more I practice, the more I get to know people.”
“That’s why so many go into family medicine,” she adds.
The future of family medicine
For family medicine and primary care more generally, “it’s an important generational moment,” Dr. D’Angelo reflects. He knows many experienced physicians are now nearing retirement age—himself included. Given the trends in residency programs, he sees fewer medical students drawn to the field.
Looking to the future, “I’m optimistic by nature,” he says. After all, the path holds lifelong rewards.
His patients keep him energized and a varied work life helps to keep his mind fresh and engaged. He serves as a leader among NWH colleagues, both as chair of the Department of Family Medicine as well as medical director of the NWH Physician-Hospital Organization.
While Dr. Mazzawi realizes the stresses that physicians face, she gets excited by what the future could mean for both providers and patients. She sees promise in technology to help alleviate administrative burdens and enable more of a connection with patients.
At the same time, “It excites me to help my patients in new and different ways,” she says. “I’m always learning.
“The way medicine should be”
When Laura thinks about family medicine, “I feel like it’s the way it should be,” she reflects. Would she recommend it to other families? “Absolutely.”
Thinking back to her early days with the Walpole practice, “I was on a first-name basis with the receptionist,” she recounts. “She knew exactly who I was and who was coming in today.”
With four kids, “to have all of our care together was very cohesive,” she says. While she might be there for one child’s appointment, Dr. D’Angelo always touched base with her about her other children.
She always has felt confident in his extensive medical knowledge and expertise. At the same time, “he really got to know our family,” she says. “He knew what sports each of the kids played, and how they were doing at school.”
For Laura, “it made it feel like it was more than just our doctor’s office.”
