Physician Profile:
Bob Franklin, M.D. of CPC-South
When Bob Franklin was just a
boy growing up in rural North Carolina, he learned early and first-hand the
true measure of a dedicated family doctor.
The only child of Ray and Louise Franklin, Bob became very ill one evening
with severe abdominal pain, a fever of 105°-106°, and shaking chills, but
the family had no means of transportation to the hospital. On learning of
his illness, their family doctor, Heywood Smith, M.D., came to their home at
11 p.m. to see what he could do for Bob. Fearing the child might have
appendicitis, Dr. Smith drove him to the nearest hospital emergency room.
Bob recovered from this episode but was left with a lasting impression of
his family doctor, who became a model and inspiration for Bob. “After that,
I thought it would be good to go into medicine,” Dr. Franklin explains. “It
was inspiring to have a doctor who cared so much about my family.”
Bob never wavered in his early decision to become a family doctor. The first
step on this path was to pursue an undergraduate degree in chemistry at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Bob's first priority was always
education, but he also found time for diversions: intramural football and
basketball, religious organizations such as Navigators and Intervarsity, and
church activities, which he says have always been an important part of his
life.
After college, Bob was offered one of only 15 scholarships from the North
Carolina Board of Governors for students who wanted to become family
physicians and work in North Carolina. The scholarship seemed tailor-made
for Bob. “I already wanted to be a family doctor like Dr. Smith,” he says,
“and I had always intended to practice in North Carolina.” So without a
second thought, he accepted the scholarship and headed for Wake Forest
University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C.
In early 1979 while in medical school, Bob met Mary Ellen, a physical
therapist,
at
the hospital where she worked. When it came time for Bob to choose where he
would like to do his internship and residency, Mary Ellen was a major
consideration. In the matching process, during which a medical student’s
preferred location for internship and residency is matched with available
programs, Bob listed the University of Kentucky in Lexington because it is
situated roughly halfway between her hometown in Indiana and his in North
Carolina. “I thought we would eventually marry, so my first choice was UK
because I thought it would be more enticing for her to make that move,” he
explains. Fortunately, he matched with UK, and when the couple married in
December of 1980, they settled in Lexington, where Bob would finish his
medical education.
When Dr. Franklin finished his residency in 1983, Mary Ellen was working on
her doctorate in exercise physiology. For the next two years, while she
completed the program, Dr. Franklin was medical director of an urgent care
and family practice center in Fort Wright, Ky., and as an emergency room
physician at area hospitals. In 1985, Mary Ellen was offered a job in
Greenville, N.C. While there, Dr. Franklin practiced with and eventually
became a partner in Greenville Family Doctors. At the same time, he also was
medical director of Stantonsburg Medical Clinic in Stantonsburg, N.C. During
their 13 years in Greenville, the couple celebrated the birth of a daughter,
Meryl, in 1986, and a son, Eric, four years later.
When the family had an opportunity to move to Augusta, where Mary Ellen
would be an associate professor in the physical therapy department at the
Medical College of Georgia, they were conflicted. “We had strong feelings
about moving because we liked Greenville and our work there,” Dr. Franklin
says. “Leaving was one of the most difficult decisions we’ve ever made.”
When they did make the move to Augusta and settled in Columbia County,
however, they found their new community much to their liking. “The people
here are nice, friendly, and easy to talk with,” he explains. “There’s a lot
to do here and it’s a good place to raise children.”
From the start, Dr. Franklin was interested in joining the Center for
Primary Care, but since there was no opportunity available at the time, he
worked in an urgent care and family practice at Medical Park in Sumter, S.C.
During that time, he also worked part time on Saturdays for CPC, and later
was offered a full-time position. In October 2002, Dr. Franklin joined the
CPC medical staff as the fifth doctor at CPC-South.
Aside from the influence of his childhood family physician, Dr. Franklin has
always been attracted to family medicine because of its variety, and he has
found CPC to be a good fit for his medical philosophy. He enjoys caring for
patients of all ages and meeting the full spectrum of their health care
needs. “I especially like caring for whole families and getting to know my
patients,” he says. Although he finds almost every aspect of family medicine
intriguing, preventive health is one of Dr. Franklin’s primary interests. “I
like helping my patients understand what they can do to stay healthy because
their well-being is very important to me,” he says. “My philosophy includes
treating each one of my patients as I would my own mother.” Cardiovascular
health and occupational medicine are other aspects of family medicine Dr.
Franklin particularly likes.
On a personal level, Dr. Franklin enjoys being a good family man more than
anything. “I spend lots of time with my children just being a dad,” he says.
He and his family also like traveling to beaches, cities, and the
countryside, and engaging in cultural activities, such as visiting art
museums. The main family-focused goal that he and Mary Ellen share, though,
is raising their children and helping them become happy, successful adults.
Dr. Franklin brings to CPC breadth of experience as well as personal
commitment to providing the best care for his patients. His gentle manner
and his love of people and the privilege of caring for them is evident in
all that he does, and he will surely be an asset to CPC
