THE VILLAGE DOCTOR
From a Hampton Roads Daily Press article written by Alison Freehling
John Brady, MD, is a family physician who opened his own solo practice in May, 2003 in Newport News, Virginia. He is one of many doctors around the United States who is using the "Gordon Moore" low-overhead practice model.
Last year, Brady opened a solo practice called "The Village Doctor". His only employee is a nurse who also answers the phones. Instead of a modern building, he rents an old home along Warwick Boulevard.

By slashing his overhead costs, Brady said, he can see fewer patients a day, go out on house calls and still survive financially.

"For me, it has allowed the joy to come back into medicine," he said.
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Before opening his Newport News practice, Brady spent four years at a large local practice. He said he was lucky to get five or 10 minutes per appointment and got to know just a small number of the practice's 25,000 patients.

In Hilton, Brady has 680 patients and plans for no more than 1,500. He schedules hour long visits with all new patients and blocks out 20 to 30 minutes for others, unless there's a simple complaint such as an ear infection. People get in to see him the same day they call.

The advantage isn't so much catching more problems, he said, but having time to talk about how to stay healthy down the road.

"I don't just deal with the immediate health concern that brought them in," Brady said. "When I'm not in quick mode, I get to counsel them about not smoking, about dieting and exercising."

Brady has made as many as three house calls a day, although it's usually no more than one. He tries to limit trips to people who live in or around Hilton Village.

Maria Brooks, mother of 7 year old Michael and 2 1/2 year old Ben, has taken full advantage of the service. Michael has chronic ear infections and getting to the doctor's office with two young kids isn't easy.

"To be able to call him at 7 a.m. or 4 p.m. and you know he'll be there, that's amazing," Brooks said. "He's looked in their ears and listened to their chests, and you don't have to sit in a roomful of sick people to wait for it."
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Stories like Brady's are already becoming more common, said Dr. Gordon Moore, a New York-based physician who started a similar practice in 2001 and helps other doctors do the same. More than 100 doctors are part of his online discussion group.

"We help each other as we navigate these uncharted waters," he said. "The number grows each month."

In the Practice Improvement e-mail listserve, John Brady recently shared this update on his 2 year old practice for the benefit of other physicians:
As was stated on my business plan (posted months ago), I ended up about $120,000 in debt at my nadir in 3/04. Since then, the practice has been doing relatively well and I currently sit about $86,000 in the hole. (Much of the indebtedness was my salary which I kept at $100,000/year so I would not go personally bankrupt). My accountant states that this is wonderful growth for a business, but I still hate being in debt. I am currently seeing 12-15 patients a day (4.5 days/week) and strive to see 15-18/day.

Lessons learned:
1) Moonlight to cover salary for the first few months the practice is open.
2) Market everywhere you go (church, children's activities, luncheons, restaurants) and always keep business cards handy.
3) Tell people "if you like it here, tell a friend."
4) Be careful which insurance contracts you sign

Biggest headaches:
1) Insurances-I have come to loathe them. They serve no real purpose except to make money and they do this by creating loop after loop to jump through until we get tired of jumping, and then they blame us.
2) Isolation-I was always in big practices before making the leap and I do not do hospital, so my interaction with other doctors is minimal. This leads to some professional isolation. I fill the void with local medical society meetings, etc, but it's still not the same.
3) Juggling financial responsibilities at home and at work (hopefully will get much better as the loans get paid off and my salary increases).
4) Trying to determine when to cut off to new patients-we are currently seeing 1 new patient a day which I hope will fill the void of those leaving the practice through moves or death (not my fault), but the balancing act between being too busy and not being busy enough is more difficult than I thought it would be.

Biggest benefits:
1) Freedom to practice medicine like I want. No bean counters (except my wife), no administrators.
2) Unfaltering patient satisfaction/loyalty
3) Being a small business owner. I know it sounds goofy, but starting something from scratch, nurturing it, and watching it grow is quite satisfying and a sense of great pride.
4) Scheduling freedom-If I need time off, I take it. Since opening the practice, I have only missed one of my kids' performances/meetings/parties/etc and that was because I was in Richmond lecturing to doctors about the benefits of EMRs. I have also found time to train for and run a marathon, which would have been impossible in the previous office.
5) Being on the cutting edge of the future of medicine-computers, database research, evidence-based information at my fingertips. How cool is that?

Would I do it again? Without question. John

Fine food is Main Attraction

Elegant eatery is hidden gem just around the corner

By Prue Salasky
Daily Press

NEWPORT NEWS -- Sometimes, when it's in your own back yard, you just don't appreciate what you have. It's enough to make you crazy when you realize what you've been missing.

That's how I felt after a visit to 99 Main Restaurant.

Just a couple of miles down the road from the newspaper, it occupies an inconspicuous building just off the main thoroughfare in Hilton Village. It does nothing to draw attention to itself - but that's really no excuse. Nor is the fact that throughout its 3-year history, 99 Main has remained stubbornly closed at lunchtime, despite the pleas of many.

If you've passed it by without a second thought, don't delay: Check your calendar, find an occasion to celebrate, and make reservations for dinner. I'll stop short of offering a personal guarantee of satisfaction - but I'd sure like to hear where else in the vicinity is doing a better job.

Not everything's perfect: The lamb was under-cooked on the first try; a server dropped a tray of glasses that smashed around our feet, and the piano music (exclusive to Saturday evenings), while beautifully played, did battle with our attempts at conversation. When the pianist left at 9 p.m. we found ourselves at the mercy of a boorish raconteur at a neighboring table. Yet none of this detracted us from an overall sense of delight in the simply elegant surroundings, the comfortable expertise of the staff, and an engaging, creative menu well-crafted to the season.

For the past year, chef Aengus Channon has been implementing the changing menu from a kitchen that's open to occupants of a small, curved bar, but shielded from the more formal of the two dining areas. He evidences a light touch with the summer selection of soups, salads, fish, fowl, kebabs and vegetables. In his tenure in the kitchen, the menu has moved from a quirky, American style toward light interpretations of classical French dishes. The kitchen also puts a premium on color and aesthetic appeal.

For starters, a lobster salad ($10) with strips of orange-pink papaya, leafy arugula and wickedly crunchy macadamia nuts presented lobster at its chilled best in a light tangy dressing. From several choices, including a special of fresh figs with goat cheese and ham, mussels, and a tomato Caprese salad, we opted for a bowl of cool avocado soup ($9) with a tower of lump backfin crabmeat at its center. Its mint-green base gave it a super-cool appearance, but just a hint of a metallic aftertaste marred our overall enjoyment of it.

Our server, meticulous in removing dirty plates and attending to glasses, kept up an even tempo of attention even when the kitchen was slow to deliver the main courses. Hot French bread, cut in a generous diagonal slice and served with butter, filled the gap. A varied wine list and beers on draft include nightly specials. A glass of light, fruity Pinot Grigio ($5 glass) made the perfect match for a summer meal while we soaked up the ambience provided by linens and fresh flowers, prints depicting La Fontaine's fables, and generally simple décor accented by a boldly flowered banquette.

From the obvious penchant for fresh fish, well represented on the written menu and in a number of specials, we selected a spadefish ($20). Our server described the unfamiliar fish from the Chesapeake Bay as "like a mackerel," which proved most apt. The moist, meaty fillet, presented in a light beurre blanc with potatoes and spinach, was perfect - heartier and more flavorful than flounder but not as strong as bluefish. Rockfish, soft-shell crab and bacon-wrapped cod were among the other specials. There are also several grilled meat and kebab dishes. From these, the rack of lamb ($24) seemed almost raw at first; after additional cooking, the individual chops returned still pink but sufficiently close to the requested medium. A light pomegranate glaze complemented the meat's flavor, and sides of asparagus, carrots and rice-stuffed tomatoes were perfectly prepared.

Our delight continued with the desserts. Initially, when our server announced - gratuitously - that a couple were unavailable, the selection seemed uninspired: two sorbets, two ice creams, a mixed vanilla-chocolate crème brûlée and a peanut-chocolate cake. Nothing leaped out until our waiter, returning with truly excellent coffee, remembered an additional choice of nougat glace ($6). Forget the calorie count, this concoction of

Creative in Hilton Village

By Marisa Marsey

A recent Wall Street Journal column asserts it’s not how much money we have that makes us happy, but what we do with it. Describing how to wisely spend dollars for leisure, David Schkade, professor of management at the University of California at San Diego, is quoted: "Going to a dinner at a nice restaurant, where you’re going to see friends and eat good food, is one of the best combinations." A spate of new local restaurants including Riverview’s Parallel 36, named for its worldwide fare from the latitude crossing Norfolk (Japan, Korea, Greece, etc.), and Eat at the North End with Erick Heilig’s tantalizing but not over-the-top cuisine (meatloaf, anyone?) should make that easy.
Now, if I just had some friends…
Chad Martin does. He unleashed Create in Hilton Village last week with pal Andrew Hyatt as general manager and cocktail stylist. The two were thumbing through a magazine at nearby 99 Main, where Martin once cheffed, when the buzzword in a range ad jumped out at them.
"Create — wouldn’t that be a cool name, we both said," remembers Hyatt. "That’s what Chad does on the line with his guys and that’s what I do behind the bar."
The chef-owner draws on his experience at Fire & Ice (where Michael Toepper gave him his first cooking job) and Blue Hippo (which he and Ryan Pepple recently closed and may turn into a jazz-wine bar; meanwhile, Pepple and wine wiz Rob Alston have opened the upscale Southwestern Terra Cotta Café at Harbour View in Suffolk) for a menu Martin calls American Regional/global/mix and match. To wit: Offerings such as marinated flank steak on cashew scallion risotto with baby bok choy and oyster mushroom syrup ($21). Hyatt, too, pulls from all over the planet for his drink designs, with an emphasis on South America and the Caribbean. I’m looking forward to his kiwi caipirinha. Outside, the freestanding building recalls its Toddle House past, but the cozy, intimate interior — 35 seats, eight more at the bar, open kitchen, walls painted ruby red, eggplant and practically primary yellow — plays up to its new white-tablecloth status.
Says Martin: "The food’s pretentious, we’re not."
(Dinner Tues.-Sat., 10417 Warwick Blvd. Newport News, 240-2776)

BUSINESS WOMAN MARLENE WHITING (Brandywine Collectables)
BEGINS IN HISTORIC HILTON VILLAGE
Over Two Decades Ago

It was 1981 when Marlene Whiting took a basket full of her homemade folk art to a gift shop in HISTORIC HILTON VILLAGE. These were the wooden hearts and such that Truman (husband)
had cut with a band saw and she hand-painted. Soon, Marlene was commissioned to make miniature buildings based on those in HILTON VILLAGE. Another order came from Colonial Williamsburg (today we’re their official miniature house builder) and Brandywine was off and running.

We’re still based in Yorktown, but we’ve outgrown the kitchen table. And the house. And the garage. And our first manufacturing facility. We’ve gone from two to more than 20 employees. We’ve gone from paper and pencil to computers and lasers.

One thing hasn’t changed: Marlene still designs every Brandywine building. Truman sometimes operates the woodcutting machinery, plays with the laser every chance he gets, handles day-to-day operations and is our President/CEO in 1994. Daughter Donna helps Marlene with design, product development and marketing. (She’s the one to blame for the website, for example.)

BRANDYWINE COLLECTIBLES
104 Greene Drive
Yorktown Virginia 23692
Phone: 800-336-5031
Fax: 757-898-6895
cgmars@att.net
email Cindy Marshal, our Office Manager with questions.