Othello doc practices for over a half-century

OTHELLO - After five decades of practicing medicine in Othello, Dr. Richard Bunch said he doesn't have plans of retiring anytime soon.

The family practice doctor recently celebrated his 50th anniversary in the business.

"For a small of town that Othello is, we've had some of the best medical care in the state," he said. "I enjoy what I do, and medicine changes all the time, so it's stimulating."

Dr. Bunch, not to be confused with his son Randy, who also practices medicine with his father at the Columbia Basin Health Association's 14th Avenue Medical Clinic, said he's always been drawn to rural life.

The doctor grew up in Ontario, Ore., and crossed the Cascades to attend medical school in Portland.

"I liked farm life," he said. "That's why I came here. And I don't like big cities."

After Bunch earned his degree in medicine, he said he wanted to move to a small-town setting as quickly as possible.

He had relatives in the Othello area back in the 1960's, so it wasn't completely new to him.

"That probably had something to do with my coming here," he said.

Back then, and it is still somewhat true today, small-town physicians tend to treat everybody and not necessarily specialize in a particular area.

Specialists were few and far between when he started, he said. General practitioners had to perform most of the services that specialists provide, which is still somewhat the status quo in rural hospitals nowadays.

"I'm certainly happy that I'm able to do a variety of things. I'm not certain that I would like to be specialized, plus I think family docs can be very helpful," he said. "I went to see my cardiologist, and he took care of my heart. But what do I do with the rest of my body?"

And Bunch said he enjoys the variety of the patients he sees as a family practice physician.

"I'm kind of an albatross in that I take care of the young and old," he said. "Patients all have concerns and illnesses, and each patient, particularly in a diversified cultural area like we have here, view their body and their illnesses a little bit differently.

"When I take care of people, I try to take that into consideration."

Bunch has seen major changes in health care over the past 50 years, including the invention of the physician's assistant program.

That program originated in Othello some 46 years ago, he said, and transformed medicine across the nation.

"It's been really fulfilling just to see that blossom throughout the country," he said. "Something that we thought was a good idea back then really turned out to be good."

The PA program helped alleviate doctors' behind-the-scene work, such as paperwork or running tests, to give physicians more face-to-face time with patients.

"Someone needs to be there to do that, and mid-level people have certainly filled that gap," Bunch said.

"There was a lot of concern when the PA program came in that non-doctors were going to take over all of the medical care. But that fear was quickly dispelled."

Other changes he's seen in rural medical care over the past half-century include improvements in diagnostic technologies, an increase in outreach programs and rotating specialty services, and better methods of transportation in emergency situations.

Still, "It's nice to have care right in your area," he said. "It's difficult to travel sometimes."

Bunch's contract ends in a few months, but he said he's unsure if retirement is on his horizon.

"Here we see diseases that no one has treated before," he said. "In the big city, there are 10 doctors who have already seen a patient with this condition, so you don't have the first crack at the thing. To me that makes rural medicine interesting."

Yes, social and entertainment benefits abound in larger areas, but Bunch said he'd rather live in a rural area and travel to cities.

"People in small towns seem to be a little bit more ambitious," he said.

"But, I don't know why I say that," he said with a laugh. "I've never lived for very long in a big city."