With any luck, Buchanan County may become home to more primary care physicians in the near future.
       Take, for instance, third-year medical student Sam Deel, who may now be recognizable by many patients of Dr. J.P. Sutherland, Jr.
       A native of Haysi, Deel is part of the inaugural class of the Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine in Blacksburg.
      Throughout December, Deel completed the rural family practice portion of his curriculum at Sutherland’s office in Grundy.
       “I requested this as my rural family practice rotation,” Deel said recently.
        Deel was speaking of the 20-month “rotation” VCOM students are required to complete. Each month, he said, students move on to a different type of practice, such as surgery, psychiatry and Deel’s recently-completed rural family practice training.
       “It kind of gives the medical students a chance to feel out their career path,” Deel said. “You find out what you’re good at, what you love.”
        To date, Deel has completed rotations in geriatrics, at Clinch Valley Medical Center, and psychiatry and pediatrics at clinics associated with the Russell County Medical Center in Lebanon.
        “They try to give us a variety,” Deel said of the school’s curriculum. “But I definitely like primary care. Primary care seems to be a good fit.”
        Primary care physicians work in areas of medicine that include pediatrics, internal medicine, psychiatry, rural family practice and OBGYN.
        Deel said the students were given the opportunity to choose the site of their rotations, adding that VCOM allows for a more hands-on approach with many aspects of the curriculum.
         “In surgery, they’re reaching us the scalpel,” he said. “In most institutions, a third-year student would never get that opportunity.”
         Deel also said he was glad his desire to complete his rural family practice training at a smaller location like Dr. Sutherland’s practice in Grundy came to fruition.
        “We’re one-on-one with the physicians here,” he said. “That’s a rarity. In this office, [Dr. Sutherland] definitely treats you like a doctor.”
 

       Buchanan County, along with Dickenson and Wise counties, will host a legislative reception January 19 in Richmond.
         In the past, Buchanan County has sponsored a reception of its own, but this year, opted to combine its efforts with those of Dickenson and Wise counties to host a regional reception.
        The event is sponsored by the boards of supervisors in each of the three counties and their industrial development authorities.
         The reception will be held from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on January 19 at the Omni Richmond Hotel.
 

       Projects in 10 Southwest Virginia communities, including Buchanan County, will receive Appalachian Regional Commission funding this year.
       Gov. Mark Warner made the announcement Tuesday, noting the funds total $1.7 million.
      The University of Appalachia College of Pharmacy is slated to receive $250,000 in the Area Development Funding category.
        “We’ve put a strong focus on improving the economy and quality of life in Southwest Virginia over the last four years and ARC has been an important part of that work,” Warner said. “These grants will help the region prepare for new, high tech jobs, further promote and develop its cultural and heritage tourist destinations, and improve access to health services and public water.”

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