Health & Wellness Champion Award - Dr. Robert M. Clark

Dr. Robert Clark grew up in Exton, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. When Robert Clark came to the end of his college years, he had what some people might consider an enviable dilemma: go to medical school or become a professional golfer.

He had been interested in medicine since he was 11 or 12 years old, so by the time he finished college, medical school seemed like a natural choice.

When the acceptance letter arrived for the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine he decided to go. After completion of medical school, he decided to start a family with his beautiful wife Lucinda and two children, Jessica and Xavier. His first medical practice was in Fayetteville, North Carolina. From there, the family moved to Augusta, where he has been on staff at the Center for Primary Care since 1994.

Considering the group’s diversity with respect to background, religion, ethnicity, personality, and interests, he finds CPC’s physicians to be complementary and remarkably compatible. “We are a unique group and work well together,” he says.

Dr. Clark’s background and patient care approach bring yet another facet to the group. His medical degree is Doctor of Osteopathy, a philosophy of medicine that considers illnesses in the context of the whole system rather than in isolation.

“In today's environment, there are a few differences between MDs and DOs with respect to training and practice,” he says.

The unique dimension Dr. Clark brings to Center for Primary Care, however, has less to do with his degree with but his approach to patient care. “I am probably more holistic view among other primary care physicians, “ he said. Holistic implies a great emphasis on prevention and, when appropriate, a treatment that relies less on medicine than other approaches, such as nutrition, exercise, vitamins, muscular manipulations and consideration of environmental influences.

Part of this interest grew out of his medical training, but his experience as a father asthmatic child had a great impact. Jessica was born with asthma, secondary to being a premature infant. When the child was 2 years old Lucinda decided to track her asthma attacks to see if there was a pattern. They discovered that Jessica’s attacks were occurring after the house was cleaned with bleach. This experience caused Dr. Clark to ask himself, “What might I be missing with my patients?”

Dr. Clark finds that a growing number of patients- particularly those who grew up in the 1960s- are more open to holistic approaches to medicine.

”As they get older,” he says, “they want to avoid health problems their parents faced.”

Aside from practicing medicine and participating in golf, Dr. Clark dances the Argentine tango with his wife, spends time with his family, and travelling to the Caribbean and West Coast. He takes greatest pride in his family, but grateful for opportunities he has had to make a difference in a community. He is particularly pleased to have founded the Esquire Club for black males at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. Created for social and philanthropic purposes, the organization had thrived for 20 years as a source of recreation, camaraderie, and scholarship funding.

Dr. Clark’s relaxed manner, sense of humor, medical skills, and obvious interest in improving the human condition are tremendous assets that not only serve his patient but also further broaden the scope and quality of medicine at the Center for Primary Care.

Sitemap