To the good fortune of East Lewis County residents, Robert Williams, M.D., veered off his initial plan for his life work and took a sharp right into healthcare. His credential initials were originally CPA., as he was a Certified Public Accountant. However, after five years in that field, Williams knew he didn’t want to work in the business world his whole career. Instead, he decided he was better suited for a career path as a physician. Dr. Williams observed his younger brother’s enjoyment and satisfaction in the orthopedic field and decided to follow suit.
“I’m happy and grateful that I was able to make the change. It’s been good for me,” Dr. Williams says. “I’m much happier than I think I would have been. I feel more satisfaction in medicine.”
Dr. Williams is a busy man. He is a part-time physician at Arbor Health — Morton Hospital, in addition to a full-time orthopedic surgery practice in Corpus Christie, Texas.
Orthopedic surgery is a long-sought specialty for Arbor Health. The medical system’s administrators identified a real need for the service over ten years ago. However, East Lewis County does not have the population to support a full-time orthopedic practice, and it proved difficult to recruit a part-time specialist.
Last year, though, the pieces of the puzzle came together. An employee in Dr. Williams’ Corpus Christie office grew up in Eatonville and knew about Morton Hospital. One conversation led to another, with the result being that Dr. Williams started working at Arbor Health three days a month. He sees his clinic patients at the Morton Clinic and performs needed orthopedic procedures and surgeries at Morton Hospital during those days.
“This has been a real benefit to our community as it’s a service that is much needed,” Arbor Health CEO Leianne Everett says. “Adding this specialty service line lives up to our vision of providing accessible, quality healthcare. And our relationship with Dr. Williams has proven to be a very positive move forward.”
Dr. Williams hopes to grow the orthopedic practice at Arbor Health. And while he is a surgeon, he gives the reminder that there are many non-operative treatments for orthopedic needs. “A lot of orthopedics does not include surgery,” he says, explaining that they start with conservative, non-operative treatments to see if the patient can get better that way before moving to the surgery level of care.
After 23 years, Dr. Williams says he still enjoys his chosen specialty, saying that “restoring people back to their active lifestyles” is what he finds most rewarding.
When asked about his hobbies, Dr. Williams said in good humor that he likes to say that he enjoys playing golf, but if he’s truthful with himself, he hasn’t played golf for a very long time. “I work a lot,” he said, laughing. As of late, though, he has taken more interest in working out and has joined a gym. “So, I guess my hobby is working out,” he says with a smile.
Dr. Williams is available for appointments by calling 360.496.3641.
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