Physician Profile:
Phillip & Denise Kennedy, M.D.
of CPC-Central
From the start, Phillip and
Denise Kennedy were on the same track, moving in the same direction at the
same pace. Not surprisingly, they ended up at the same destination doing the
same thing. They have always been a couple. Now they’re a couple of family
doctors working at the Center for Primary Care.
Growing up in their hometown of Midland Valley, South Carolina, Phillip and
Denise were best buddies first, but friendship soon blossomed into romance,
and by high school, they were sweethearts. After graduation, they furthered
their education at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma. They took a
little time out between college and medical school to tie the knot and then
enrolled together at the Medical College of Georgia. They worked side by
side throughout medical school, taking advantage of their unique
opportunities to spend time with one another. “Many couples met during
school and later married,” Denise says, “but I think we were the first to
start and finish medical school as a married couple.”
When it came time for their residencies, Denise and Phillip once again found
themselves on the same course. Each one made the decision to become a family
doctor. Denise recalls enjoying the full range of medical care she was
exposed to during rotations — providing a variety of services to patients of
all ages — and family medicine filled that bill. “Family medicine seemed a
natural choice for me,” she says. “I wanted to be like the old-time country
doctors — taking care of the whole person.” Phillip likewise chose family
medicine for its breadth. “Family medicine is the most challenging specialty
there is. Instead of focusing on one organ, we look at the whole picture,”
he explains. “This keeps my work interesting. Being a family physician never
becomes routine.”
Phillip and Denise both completed their residencies in Augusta and then
found themselves at a crossroads. Prior to joining CPC, each had considered
various options available to them, such as academic medicine and private
practice. They did not know for certain if they would end up working
together, but years of togetherness had proved they could. So, when they had
an opportunity to join the Center for Primary Care and, along with their
colleague, Dr. Jay Tomeo, build a practice near Doctors Hospital, they
enthusiastically came on board.
Being able to stay in the Augusta area was right in line with the couple’s
personal and professional goals. “We like the area and the people here. This
is our hometown and we have family here,” Phillip says. “We always hoped
we’d be able to remain in the Augusta area, and we were very happy when the
opportunity presented itself.”
Being in the Augusta area enables Phillip and Denise to stay near their
families, with whom they have a close relationship. Denise is the oldest of
three sisters in her family, something to which she attributes her tendency
toward perfectionism. “I was a typical oldest child — driven and a good
student,” she said. “A lot was expected of me and I expected a lot of
myself.” Her favorite subject in school was science, and by the middle of
high school, she began drifting toward a career in medicine.
Phillip is the youngest of five children in his family. His three brothers
and one sister range from 4 to 10 years older. As part of a close-knit,
hardworking family, he developed an intense work ethic that carries into his
medical practice today. Phillip worked alongside his parents and siblings in
the family furniture business from a young age, earning his own spending
money and developing an independent streak. Throughout school, he was active
in the student council, was elected student body president, and participated
in many other activities that provided leadership opportunities.
Today, Phillip and Denise provide comprehensive care to all types of
patients, but each has areas of special interest. Phillip particularly
enjoys older people and cares for many patients in nursing homes, but he is
also fond of pediatrics because he loves children. Denise has found her
niche in women’s health care and has developed an enthusiastic and loyal
following.
Phillip and Denise are young doctors, but they consider their age an
advantage, not a drawback. Because they both moonlighted in the emergency
room during their residencies, they are experienced for young physicians.
They also approach patient care and continuing education with enthusiasm and
a fresh outlook. “We’re young, energetic, and open to change, new ideas, and
growth,” Denise explains. “We’re the kind of doctors who keep up with
changes in our field by reading, continually learning, and participating in
peer discussions,” Phillip adds.
The most frequent peer discussions they find themselves in are one-on-one at
the dinner table. “We talk a lot about medicine at dinner,” Denise says.
“It’s nice . . . friendly . . . competitive . . . . Sometimes we have to
steer the conversation away from medicine.” At the end of the day, the
important thing is that each knows and understands the demands of being a
doctor and that helps them work together to balance work and home life.
Denise enjoys tennis, and she and Phillip both enjoy fishing, but they have
little time for leisure activities. Patient care, along with the time they
spend developing their practices, can be all consuming. It takes a great
commitment of time and energy to build a practice from the ground up, but it
suits their personalities perfectly. “We’re both go-getters,” Denise says,
and they’re willing to put in the time and effort it takes to become
respected physicians in the Augusta area.
They are proud to have maintained a happy marriage while working so closely
together for so many years. “Being together in medical school, residency,
and practice has pulled us closer,” Denise says. “We’ve been a team for a
long time, but for us, working with each other has been a real plus,”
Phillip adds. “We’ve remained partners through it all.”
Their greatest achievement in the end, however, may not be how much they
accomplish, but rather what they do with what they have. “We feel we do the
best we can with the talents God has given us,” Denise says. You just can’t
ask for anything finer than that.
