Earlier this week, George Burden notified his 2,000 patients that his last day on the job at Elmsdale Medical Center will come in January. “When I started I would take care of people who were grandparents and now I’m taking care of their great-grandchildren,” Burden said. “I attended a party for one of my patients when she turned 100 and there were 100 of her direct descendants at the party and I probably took care of half of them.” Barden’s health is part of his decision. He was hit in a crosswalk by an SUV this summer and injured his hands and wrist. Bearden announced his retirement after 43 years. (Dr. George Burden) He has seen a world of change in the medical field, some for the better and some for the worse, since he began his career in 1979. He wanted to give his patients plenty of notice so they could try to find another family doctor, which is hard to do in Nova Scotia. There are more than 105,000 Nova Scotians who need a doctor, more than 10 percent of the province’s population. “It’s a very difficult decision for a doctor like me who has been in the same community for so long to retire because you have so many people who depend on you for their care,” Burden said during a break at the clinic. “You also get very close to your patients.” Burden says there was no 911 system in his area when he started practicing medicine. He often answered calls in remote areas at all hours.
The clinic is always busy
As the East Hants corridor began to grow, the clinic was always busy. “We saw everything from people with heart attacks walking through the door to people who had their hands cut off,” Bearden said. “We literally ran an emergency department and covered our patients 24 hours a day. Then you could call the clinic day or night and have access to a doctor.” Burden also served as a district medical examiner for 15 years in addition to his work at the clinic. Those calls were grim, but he remembers one that wasn’t when he was called to investigate a report of skeletal remains found by fishermen on the banks of the Shubenacadie River. Weight is shown with one of his 2,000 patients. (Dr. George Burden) He said he ruined a new pair of shoes when he walked down the muddy bank to discover what was actually a carnival costume.
Memorable calls
There were other memorable calls. She gave birth to many babies, quite unexpectedly. A delivery in the clinic of a premature baby stands out. “We ran out of oxygen, so we called the local welder and he destroyed one of his oxygen tanks,” Bearden said. “We ran a line from the window to the baby until we could get the baby to the hospital.” One of his first retirement goals is to travel to the Netherlands to visit his daughter and grandson. He said his career was very rewarding. “There’s nothing like that feeling … at the end of a career that I’ve made a difference in people’s lives and that’s the real reward.”
title: “Doctor Who Served 5 Generations Of Ns Families Retires " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-01” author: “Kenneth Ducharme”
Earlier this week, George Burden notified his 2,000 patients that his last day on the job at Elmsdale Medical Center will come in January. “When I started I would take care of people who were grandparents and now I’m taking care of their great-grandchildren,” Burden said. “I attended a party for one of my patients when she turned 100 and there were 100 of her direct descendants at the party and I probably took care of half of them.” Barden’s health is part of his decision. He was hit in a crosswalk by an SUV this summer and injured his hands and wrist. Bearden announced his retirement after 43 years. (Dr. George Burden) He has seen a world of change in the medical field, some for the better and some for the worse, since he began his career in 1979. He wanted to give his patients plenty of notice so they could try to find another family doctor, which is hard to do in Nova Scotia. There are more than 105,000 Nova Scotians who need a doctor, more than 10 percent of the province’s population. “It’s a very difficult decision for a doctor like me who has been in the same community for so long to retire because you have so many people who depend on you for their care,” Burden said during a break at the clinic. “You also get very close to your patients.” Burden says there was no 911 system in his area when he started practicing medicine. He often answered calls in remote areas at all hours.
The clinic is always busy
As the East Hants corridor began to grow, the clinic was always busy. “We’ve seen everything from people with heart attacks walking through the door to people with their hands cut off,” Bearden said. “We literally ran an emergency department and covered our patients 24 hours a day. Back then you could call the clinic day or night and have access to a doctor.” Burden also served as a district medical examiner for 15 years in addition to his work at the clinic. Those calls were grim, but he remembers one that wasn’t when he was called to investigate a report of skeletal remains found by fishermen on the banks of the Shubenacadie River. Weight is shown with one of his 2,000 patients. (Dr. George Burden) He said he ruined a new pair of shoes when he walked down the muddy bank to discover what was actually a carnival costume.
Memorable calls
There were other memorable calls. She gave birth to many babies, quite unexpectedly. A delivery in the clinic of a premature baby stands out. “We ran out of oxygen, so we called the local welder and he destroyed one of his oxygen tanks,” Bearden said. “We ran a line from the window to the baby until we could get the baby to the hospital.” One of his first retirement goals is to travel to the Netherlands to visit his daughter and grandson. He said his career was very rewarding. “There’s nothing like that feeling … at the end of a career that I’ve made a difference in people’s lives and that’s the real reward.”
