MDs of Bogleheads, anyone love their community health and/or federally qualified health center?

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manlymatt83
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MDs of Bogleheads, anyone love their community health and/or federally qualified health center?

Post by manlymatt83 »

My S.O. is an OBGYN and is looking for new employment. She's currently in Illinois, but looking at moving pretty much anywhere in the Country. I'm trying to help her seek out new areas to look at and figured a post on BH might make sense. She loves the federally qualified health center (community health?) she works at now and would likely love to continue down that track versus going into private practice.
mega317
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Re: MDs of Bogleheads, anyone love their community health and/or federally qualified health center?

Post by mega317 »

They have OBs, and federally qualified health centers, and underserved patients everywhere. There must be something else you're looking for besides that for anyone to help you. Specific patient population? Your family? Weather? Activities? COL?
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manlymatt83
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Re: MDs of Bogleheads, anyone love their community health and/or federally qualified health center?

Post by manlymatt83 »

mega317 wrote: Thu Jun 23, 2022 10:36 pm They have OBs, and federally qualified health centers, and underserved patients everywhere. There must be something else you're looking for besides that for anyone to help you. Specific patient population? Your family? Weather? Activities? COL?
She seems to think the center she’s at right now is a true unicorn. I don’t know enough to know whether that’s true or not. They do treat their physicians really well - flexible schedules, etc.

My parents are in NJ so we’ve considered NY, NJ. Maybe Boston.

Her mom is in San Diego so also looking at California.

But honestly also looking at other places given that we know our parents won’t be around forever and we aren’t sure if relocating just to be close to one of them is the right choice. Would definitely like to leave Illinois though — move somewhere with more water and hiking.
tiliqdinich
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Re: MDs of Bogleheads, anyone love their community health and/or federally qualified health center?

Post by tiliqdinich »

manlymatt83 wrote: Thu Jun 23, 2022 10:40 pm
mega317 wrote: Thu Jun 23, 2022 10:36 pm They have OBs, and federally qualified health centers, and underserved patients everywhere. There must be something else you're looking for besides that for anyone to help you. Specific patient population? Your family? Weather? Activities? COL?
She seems to think the center she’s at right now is a true unicorn. I don’t know enough to know whether that’s true or not. They do treat their physicians really well - flexible schedules, etc.

My parents are in NJ so we’ve considered NY, NJ. Maybe Boston.

Her mom is in San Diego so also looking at California.

But honestly also looking at other places given that we know our parents won’t be around forever and we aren’t sure if relocating just to be close to one of them is the right choice. Would definitely like to leave Illinois though — move somewhere with more water and hiking.
1/ If her current employer is truly a unicorn, then why move especially without any pressing requirement for the move?

2/ Perhaps it is best, like the above poster said, if you figure out the parameters the new place must have.

3/ Once you identify the city, like the above poster said, nearly all major cities have FQHCs and all are likely to have a need for a provider. All she needs to do is call the medical director for a job and they will likely open a position for her.
JPM
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Re: MDs of Bogleheads, anyone love their community health and/or federally qualified health center?

Post by JPM »

Kenosha and Racine have FQHCs but I know little about them apart from their locations and that some very nice people work there. No doubt MKE and Madison have them too but I don't know anyone who has worked there. Probably Green Bay and Janesville-Beloit have them. Wisconsin is worth a look unless the cold winters put you off. In SE Wisconsin where most of the people live, climate not much different from Chicago, but pride in cold-hardiness is more of a thing.

Private practice in Wisconsin is rarer all the time as large integrated groups dominate the state's medical care provision. Ascension (the Catholic group), Aurora-Advocate, and Froedtert's system dominate the shoreline from Milwaukee to the Illinois line and in Aurora's case to Marinette on the Michigan line. Greater Madison area is served mostly by the University group and Dane clinic. Further afield, Gundersen and Mayo in the northwest, Mercy in the southwest/south central area, and Marshfield in the north central. The big medical center in Marquette Michigan serves the far north, but I forget its name. It's affiliated with Northern Michigan U for their nursing and technical programs. If you like winter sports and lots of snow, it's hard to beat Marquette. A friend of ours does beta testing near there for Deere snowblowers.

Wisconsin is relatively doctor-friendly in terms of pay rates and malpractice climate. Urban Illinois is neither. If your SO prefers to practice among the indigent, opportunities abound among the large integrated groups and without the resource limitations of FQHCs. In places like Kenosha, Beloit, Green Bay, and the other industrial towns a practicing specialist doctor will see a cross-section of society- everyone from the bank president to the bank robber. Advocate-Aurora has a big high-risk OB center in downtown Milwaukee near Marquette U, Froedtert has one in the relatively upscale western part of the City.

If your SO prefers FQHCs for loan repayment advantages, the pay rate differential probably more than makes up for that in most of Wisconsin.

OB is more and more a Medicaid practice in most locales, as almost 50% of all babies born in the US are born on Medicaid now and that has been climbing for at least 20 years. Ditto pediatric practice for the same reason. There are some upscale OB units in greater Chicago where residential segregation by SE class covering large areas is much more the rule than in Wisconsin. There may be some upscale OB units in the upscale parts of greater Milwaukee or Madison, but I'm not familiar with any such.
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White Coat Investor
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Re: MDs of Bogleheads, anyone love their community health and/or federally qualified health center?

Post by White Coat Investor »

manlymatt83 wrote: Thu Jun 23, 2022 9:23 pm My S.O. is an OBGYN and is looking for new employment. She's currently in Illinois, but looking at moving pretty much anywhere in the Country. I'm trying to help her seek out new areas to look at and figured a post on BH might make sense. She loves the federally qualified health center (community health?) she works at now and would likely love to continue down that track versus going into private practice.
If I really didn't care where I lived, I'd choose a state with a low cost of living, no income tax, and a nice malpractice environment. Unfortunately, I do, so I live in state with a moderate to high cost of living, a moderate income tax, and a reasonable malpractice environment but great skiing, rafting, climbing, mountain biking, and canyoneering.
1) Invest you must 2) Time is your friend 3) Impulse is your enemy | 4) Basic arithmetic works 5) Stick to simplicity 6) Stay the course
chalet
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Re: MDs of Bogleheads, anyone love their community health and/or federally qualified health center?

Post by chalet »

look at FQHC in Kentucky/Tennessee, near Land Between the Lakes. water and hiking. you can buy a house with a dock on one of the lakes.

here is one that might be too far from the lakes, but is an example: https://www.audubon-area.com

or, work at Ft Campbell and recreate around the lakes and in Nashville.


(not an MD)
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