Thanks, Dr. Alipit

Chad Dally, Staff Writer
517.437.6017 

Like many people who reach retirement, when the day actually happens for Dr. John Alipit, it will forever remind him of his granddaughter — it’s the day she turns 2 years old. 

Alipit and his wife Jo will have much more time to spend with their two children and grandchild when he walks away from his 34 years at the Hillsdale Community Health Center.

Alipit will retire on April 14.

Friends and co–workers gathered Tuesday at St. Anthony’s Church in Hills–dale to thank the physician for his dedication to medicine and service to the community and the hospital itself.

“The community is very, very lucky you were here, and you’ve saved untold lives,” Charles Bianchi, chief executive officer of HCHC, told Alipit and the rest of the crowd. “I know I’m a better person to have worked with you.”

Bianchi asked if Dr. Alipit could remember how many surgeries he’s performed in more than three decades of work in the county, and Alipit could only fire back, “More than the population of Hillsdale.”

After receiving a retirement gift of a Howard Miller clock, Dr. Alipit allowed himself some reflection about earlier days when the hospital had the reputation of a “Band–aid” facility with 15 to 20 doctors. And he talked about his first day on the job when he got a call at 2:30 a.m. to help out with a crushed hand — the others knowing that Dr. Alipit specializes in hand surgery — two days before he was officially supposed to start.

Shrugging his shoulders amidst the laughter of the crowd, Alipit just said, “What could I do? I had to go in.”

But he said what kept him in the community is that small–town feeling that draws many people to a less hectic life — unless you’re a physician, of course.

“It’s that bond of a small community, that ability to connect with people that you’re not going to find in Detroit or the other big cities,” Alipit told the crowd.

Without helicopter pads and other means to transport patients to Ann Arbor or other bigger cities, Alipit said the staff was able to save many lives because of their ability to work together and pitch in for general practice, often putting in long hours. He added modestly that he could remember “at least 50 or 60 lives we saved at that ‘Band–aid hospital.’”

Jo Alipit said she knew what she was getting into when the two got married in 1967, mainly because she was a nurse herself. But she also knew her husband long before he became a doctor: The couple’s families were friends and attended the same Episcopal church in the north–central region of the Philippines.

Jayne Fish can attest to the time Dr. Alipit spent in service to the community because, for 17 years, she worked for him as a nurse. She said in addition to being a “wonderful boss,” Alipit also developed a good rapport with his patients.

“I think what’s helped him for so many years is his reputation,” Fish said. “He explains things very well, shows pictures and makes sure people know what’s going on.”

Later as he held a small circle attentive, Alipit said when he started he couldn’t conceive that he’d spend 35 years in Hillsdale. But he was quick to point out that a physician can’t work in a community for that long without honesty and hard work. He is also strongly grounded in his Episcopal faith, spending almost as much time at his church than at the hospital.

In fact, Alipit said he became interested in medicine when he was a youth in the Philippines. After visits from medical missionaries, Alipit saw a way he could meld his faith and an interest in science and medicine. But it’s the way the missionaries would interact with patients that Alipit would carry with him throughout his career.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my patients, it’s that you can have all the credentials on the wall, all the high–tech gadgets and all that, but you have to have their trust,” he said. “People have to trust you, because their life is in your hands and that’s a big responsibility.”

When Alipit steps down in April, he and Jo will visit Australia for a mix of business and the pleasure of seeing relatives. After that, he said the couple will spend much more time with their kids in Colorado and Dr. Alipit told the crowd he’s got a few ways to stay occupied.

“I’ll continue to be a husband, father, grandfather, fisherman, hunter, golfer, gardener, dancer...”

Source: http://hillsdale.net/stories/032906/news_20060329015.shtml