HEALTH CARE HERO: ‘HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS LIVE TO HELP OTHERS’
Name: Dr. Mark Couch
Home: Vandalia
Job title: Community physician; president PriMED Physicians
Where do you work? PriMED Physicians Vandalia
Describe what your day is like/what you do: Always challenging and very rewarding — working hard to keep people healthy and well. A very busy day includes teaching people to monitor their own health and helping regain wellness in their lives. In a separate area, that also means caring for people who are ill while following special procedures and donning protective equipment from time to time. Most importantly, collaborating with 55 other physicians in our Dayton area communities, which requires continuous communication with my colleagues. In a time of great isolation, I have also never felt more connected to them.
What inspired you to get into health care? The desire to make a difference in the lives of my own community. It has been an honor and privilege to return back to my hometown where I grew up as a child, and I have never regretted the opportunity. Health care providers live to help others in a way that is meaningful. At the same time, this pandemic has created an extraordinary challenge and threat to our community. This unprecedented peril to our neighborhoods has brought out the best in the people in our organization: Doctors, nurses, medical assistants, receptionists and administrative staff are all collaborating together to keep people safe and help them stay healthy when many challenges make that difficult.
What’s a memorable experience you’ve had in health care? COVID-19 without a doubt.
Over the past 35 years, no challenge has been as critical as it is now. The Montgomery County medical community has done a tremendous job in collaborating together and successfully, helping the community lessen the consequences of this pandemic as seen in other states across the country.
What do you want readers to know about your job right now? We are here for you. PriMED joined a nationwide public service campaign to let communities know that it is safe to see your doctor. We encourage people to work on their health now as we anticipate the return of COVID-19 and seasonal flu later this year.