When the new year arrives, it will be the first time since 1946 that a "Dr. Douglas" won't be practicing in the Montclair/Glen Ridge area.
|Updated Thu, Dec 14, 2023 at 9:11 am ET
MONTCLAIR, NJ — When the new year arrives, it will be the first time since 1946 that a “Dr. Douglas” won’t be practicing in the Montclair/Glen Ridge area.
Elaine Douglas, a well-known family physician in Essex County, recently announced her plans to retire. She currently practices out of Vanguard Medical Group’s location in Glen Ridge. Her last day in the office will be Dec. 18.
Douglas bid her patients and the community a fond farewell in a letter this week (read it below).
“This coming January 2024 will be the first time since 1946 that a Dr. Douglas will not be practicing in Montclair (and Glen Ridge). After careful consideration, I am announcing my plans to retire this December.
“As you may know, my father, Dr. Fred Douglas, was the first Dr. Douglas in Montclair and is the person on whose shoulders I have proudly stood. He had encouraged me to become a physician when I was in high school, but the idea of spending so much time in school did not appeal to me. I chose instead to get a degree in music education.
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“Not only did I enjoy teaching music, but also the job enabled me to take 2½ years off to be a full-time, stay-at-home mom…a gift for which I am forever grateful.
“When my daughter was about 2 years old, I started my master’s degree in social studies education. It was during my graduate studies that I developed an interest in medicine and thought about trying to get into medical school. But at the ripe old age of 27, I thought I was too old to change careers. After getting my master’s, I went back to teaching music. Even though I still enjoyed teaching, my interest in medicine grew. I saw the joy that practicing medicine gave my father. I saw how much he was loved by his patients and others who worked with him.
“I lost my teaching position in 1979. After 6 years of teaching elementary school music, I thought seriously about getting another teaching position, but I was still thinking about medicine. I decided to try to get into medical school even though I had not studied math or science since I was in high school. I took a chance and said to myself, I don’t want to be 50 years old and wonder, “Could I have done it?” I did 2 years of pre-med courses, and during the third year, I applied to medical schools – 10 years AFTER I thought I was too old to apply! Fortunately, I was accepted at my first choice – the University of Colorado, which was 6 miles from my house.
“I graduated on Memorial Day, 1986, and my father got to participate in the ceremony. I returned to Montclair and did my residency at Mountainside Family Practice, the same residency where some of the founding physicians of Vanguard Medical Group trained.
“Even though he never said so, I am sure that Dad delayed his retirement in the hopes that I would take over the practice he had worked so hard to build. We worked together for about 3 years before he retired. I continued to practice in the same home office that my father did until November 2017. However, the business of medicine was more than I could handle. I had known some of the original Vanguard physicians since residency, and I thought Vanguard would be a good fit for me. It turns out that I was right. Vanguard has given me the opportunity to continue to do what I love for longer than would have been possible otherwise.
“I still see some patients who started with my father. One of my 90+ year-old patients began seeing my dad when she was in her twenties. Another patient tells me that my father delivered her and that my mother was her home economics teacher. (Mom was one of the first Black teachers hired by the Montclair Public Schools, and after she retired, she helped me in the office.)
“With such a long history of taking care of so many in my community, deciding when to retire has been a difficult one, and I have put it off several times. I truly still love what I do, and I now understand how my dad felt about the practice of medicine.
“As I look back, I am grateful to my younger self for having the guts to take a chance on becoming a physician later in life. I am equally grateful to my patients. You have put your trust in me, and I am honored to have been a part of your healthcare journey.
“It is never easy to say goodbye, but I know that you will continue to be in good hands at Vanguard Medical Group. After I retire, please reach out to the Glen Ridge office at (973) 969-3800. You will receive priority scheduling with a provider who shares a similar medical approach and standard of care to my own standards and who also knows your medical history.
“My last day in the office will be December 18, 2023.
“It has been my pleasure to know you, and I wish you all the best in the coming years.
“Yours in good health, [Elaine Douglas].”
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