Dr. John Alessi swivels in his chair to open the drawer of a filing cabinet. It’s where he stores two green folders filled with photos, cards and letters from patients grateful for his care.
“There’s quite a bit,” Alessi said as he pulls out each one.
“Over the years I collected these and thought it would be fun to hold onto them. … Those are little mementos of nice words people have said, thanking me for the work we’ve done. I used to have them up on a board, but I took the board down. It got to be too many.”
On Oct. 11, Alessi will take those two files with him when he retires after serving Brown County residents and visitors for 23 years. About four days later, the Columbus Regional Health Nashville Family Medicine practice will close.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Alessi said he saw between 9,000 to 10,000 active cases in 2017.
Kelsey DeClue, public relations coordinator for CRH, said Alessi’s patient load is at about 1,900.
“He has 1,900 individual patients, but he sees or treats many of those individuals multiple times in one year and each visit is considered a ‘case,’” she said.
Nurse practitioner Tania Frederick is now seeing patients at the CRH PromptMed on 25th Street in Columbus, DeClue said.
The practice sent a letter to patients about a month ago letting them know of the change, along with a list of doctors who are accepting new patients. Alessi said his practice also is working to get patients in with doctors in Bloomington, since some prefer driving to Bloomington over Columbus.
DeClue said in an email Sept. 4 that CRH is currently “evaluating options” for the Nashville Family Medicine space, in Salt Creek Plaza on the Willow Street side of the Brown County YMCA building.
“We continue our commitment to the residents of Nashville and greater Brown County as we provide outreach and support in for the form of sports medicine for high school athletes, physical and occupational therapy at Nashville Physical Therapy, and emergency response and transport services through our ambulance station,” DeClue said.
DeClue said CRH is “committed to connecting Nashville Family Medicine patients to care options that best fit their individual needs.”
“We’ve already been able to place several patients with a new provider,” she said.
DeClue said CRH will continue to “evaluate options moving forward,” but the hospital has not found another physician to take over the Nashville practice, which resulted in its closure. “Columbus Regional Health wishes to thank Dr. Alessi on his more than 20 years of service to his patients and the Brown County community,” she said.
Columbus Regional Health does plan to open a new primary care office on the west of Columbus this fall, the side closest to Brown County. DeClue said more information would be available about it in the coming months.
“We hope this will provide another easy-access option for patients,” she said.
Treating Brown County
Alessi, his wife and their two young children moved to Columbus in 1995 when Alessi began working at the CRH practice in Nashville.
After completing his doctorate degree in osteopathy from Kansas City University in 1987, and his family medicine residency in Pueblo, Colorado, in 1990, he practiced medicine in Walsenburg, Colorado.
Alessi said being a doctor is something he has always wanted to do. “I had an aptitude for that in high school and in college,” he said.
He said he enjoys building relationships with patients, “being able to make them feel better, take care of their ailments,” he said.
He also enjoys getting results immediately, which usually occurs in most cases.
Alessi said he and his wife were wanting to move closer to her parents in Marion in 1995. His children were 1 and 2 1/2 at the time.
He remembers being recruited by doctor offices from all over Indiana, from downtown Indianapolis to North Vernon. “Columbus just caught our eye and we were really attracted to it. The location here in Brown County was ideal because of the beautiful surroundings and rolling hills,” he said.
“We interviewed at all of those (other) locations and fell in love with Columbus and Brown County.”
The family lived in Columbus while Alessi worked in Nashville at the newly named Nashville Family Medicine, which was then on Artist Drive. It was formerly the Seibel Clinic.
Alessi said his love for the area has kept him practicing here for more than two decades, “the environment and the people. They are very friendly. It’s easy to make friends and establish relationships with my patients,” he said.
Plus, his practice grew as more patients sought treatment there.
With the birth of their first grandchild in Arizona, the couple wanted to have more time to be there for more firsts in her life.
“When the baby was born, we missed the first tooth. … My wife has been traveling back and forth,” he said.
Alessi said his wife convinced him to retire, but he had to wait until he turned 60. “I am now 60 and it just snowballed, one thing after another,” he said.
“We decided this is the time, now that we’re not extremely aged, to venture off.”
Alessi said he will take with him some memorable experiences from working in Brown County. From diagnosing illnesses, to helping parents with newborns, to treating bee stings, he’s seen it all working as a family physician in Brown County.
“I had a patient come in who had cut his finger off, and we took care of that, put a splint on him. He came back a couple of days later after cutting his hand. He almost bled to death,” he said.
“It’s been a wild ride.”
Filling the void
Across the lobby from Nashville Family Medicine is a doctor’s office run by Indiana University Health, Southern Indiana Physicians Family and Internal Medicine. It is the only other full-time primary care office in Nashville.
Chip Johnson, who works in physician services for IU Health, said that IU Health Southern Indiana Physicians in Nashville will “continue to provide preeminent care to patients in the community and will work to fill the void to the best of our abilities.”
At the end of 2017, nurse practitioner Cindy Colglazier joined the IU practice to “provide the community with more timely access to primary care,” he said.
Dr. Marin Garcia and nurse practitioner Dee Swanson also work in that office. “Although both providers (Garcia and Swanson) have long been established in the Nashville community, we are working toward operational efficiencies that will yield additional appointment capacity for patients seeking new primary care providers,” Johnson said.
When asked if it would be possible for IU Health to take over the Nashville Family Medicine office for additional space, Johnson it was “too early to speculate what the space will be used for.”
“However, we will continue to have a presence in Nashville. Potential recruitments and the use of telemedicine are viable options to ensure care is delivered locally,” Johnson said.
The Brown County Health and Wellness Center, at Brown County Schools’ Eagle Park, became another option in Nashville earlier this year. It is accepting new patients.
All people — whether they’re associated with the school district or not — are able to use the services at Brown County Health and Wellness Center through a membership arrangement. A membership for one adult starts at $65 a month and can be canceled at any time.
Wellness for Life is operating the clinic. The company is not associated with Columbus Regional Health or IU Health.
The clinic is open on Tuesdays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
On Sept. 5, Superintendent Laura Hammack said in an email that the clinic will likely be open on an additional day “very soon.”
“We are also more than happy to serve patients that are currently being served at Dr. Alessi’s office,” she said.
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“Connection specialists” can help patients of Nashville Family Medicine find new primary care options and schedule appointments. Those specialists can be reached at WellConnect at 812-343-9840 or crh.org/wellconnect.
Two other clinics also operate in Nashville:
- Brown County Health and Wellness Center at Eagle Park: 844-333-0802
- IU Health Southern Indiana Physicians Family and Internal Medicine in Salt Creek Plaza: 812-988-2231
Volunteer group Brown Countians for Quality Healthcare is offering free, three-month trial memberships for families interested in using the Brown County Health and Wellness Center through funding from the Brown County Community Foundation. If interested in applying, call Bill at 317-885-7337 to learn more.
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