The first wave of specialists to Greenville brought doctors in what were then little-known disciplines. Soon, the community knew it could count on these physicians to bring badly needed services to the rural east.

Among them was Donald Tucker, M.D., a cardiologist and founding member of Quadrangle Internal Medicine. He never planned to establish one of the largest group practices in the east, yet Quadrangle Internal became Quadrangle Medical Specialists and later Physicians East.

He may not have planned to become a spokesman for the private practice community, but his voice has resounded through many difficult debates involving the relationship between physicians in the community and in the school of medicine.
A Greenville native, he attended Duke University, where he completed his residency and a fellowship in cardiology in 1962. He arrived in Greenville with a desire to practice.

"I think the community and the environment were ripe for multispecialty clinics," he says. "We were trying to reduce expenses and give a better product by combining services. It's better to have all of your services grouped into one building, and to have your own management."

From the beginning discussions of creating a medical school, he has spoken fervently about the need to preserve the autonomy of physicians not associated with the academic center.

"I think there was concern by people in private practice about the hospital's relationship with the medical school, and the feeling that private practice could be left out in this relationship," he says.

He agrees the medical school helped promote advancements and the availability of specialized services, but notes that many specialists already practiced here prior to 1977.

"Most people give credit for the growth in the medical community in Greenville to the medical school, which I think is unfair and unfortunate. This was a growing, vital medical community before the medical school arrived."

His experience reflects a staff doctor's demanding schedule: He remembers having to perform emergency room duties once every 25 days. "It was difficult because you worked all day and then you were at the hospital and you worked all night and slept very little."

While he agrees that the hospital - with its expanse, its equipment and its services - is an advantage to the area, he believes it has also been expensive for the patient. "There was a group of us who tried very hard to get a Certificate of Need for a private hospital," he says. "Most of us felt like the citizens would be better served by having a choice."

His participation gave a strong voice to concerns of cost, effectiveness and focus. He kept the maxim "Better - not bigger" in the public debate.

"I went into medicine not to make a fortune, but to provide a service that was essential to improve the welfare of the community," he says. "Medicine is not as personalized as it was and a hospital is not as personalized as it was and I think it is a big challenge for the future."

Don Tucker, MD