MARYSVILLE – After more than 35 years in medicine, Dr. Randall J. Brown will retire from Community Memorial Healthcare at the end of June 2019. He will celebrate his retirement with a cake and punch reception from 4 to 6 p.m. on Friday, June 28, 2019, in the South Plaza Conference Room at Community Memorial Healthcare. Patients, friends, family, and the public are invited to wish him farewell.
A native of Abilene, Dr. Brown has been a family practice physician at CMH since July 1984, when he joined Marysville Clinic after completing his residency program.
“I decided I wanted to be a physician when I was in the 5th grade,” said Dr. Brown. “We had very close family friends who were family physicians when we were living in Minneapolis, Kan. I saw the way they interacted with patients, and with the community, and I liked and respected that. I have always had the personality where I wanted to help others, and I saw medicine as a good way of being able to do so,” he said.
After graduating from Abilene High School in 1973, Dr. Brown attended the University of Kansas, Lawrence, where he completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in microbiology in 1977. He then attended medical school as the KU School of Medicine in Kansas City, earning his medical degree in 1981. He completed his residency in family medicine at St. Joseph Medical Center, Wichita, in 1984.
“Although I considered other specialties, I ultimately decided I wanted to raise my family in a small town, as I was raised. Family medicine was the specialty that enabled me to remain in a small town, and enjoy all aspects of medicine.”
Dr. Brown said he was first familiar with Marysville from competing against them in high school athletics. His initial medical exposure to the community, however, was during his residency training. “I studied surgery with Dr. Dillis Hart in Wichita,” said Dr. Brown. “At that time, Marysville did not have a general surgeon, and so Dr. Hart would fly to Marysville on a regular basis to perform surgery, and I was able to fly with him on a number of occasions as part of my training. During this time, I became aware that Dr. Don Argo and Dr. Lewis Laws were looking for a partner. It turned out that they got two – Dr. John Ryan and I trained together at St. Joseph, and we both moved here and joined the Marysville Clinic in 1984.”
“In medical school, my favorite areas were obstetrics and emergency medicine,” Dr. Brown said. “Family medicine is really the only specialty where you get to do both the ER, and obstetrics.”
Dr. Brown has spent almost his entire medical career caring for people in the Marshall and surrounding counties. He practiced in Marysville from 1984 to 1987, when he moved to Hutchinson briefly. He returned to Marysville in 1989 to open Community Physicians Clinic with Dr. Ryan, where he has practiced for the last 30 years.
“CMH is grateful for Dr. Brown’s service, and commitment to, our healthcare organization and to our community over the years,” said Curtis Hawkinson, CEO at Community Memorial Healthcare. “Dr. Brown has helped build and shape our foundation for healthcare services that will have a lasting impact for many years to come.”
Dr. Brown said his favorite part of medicine “has been the joy and miracle of birth.” And anyone who knows Dr. Brown knows the special place in his heart that maternity and newborn patients hold.
During his career, Dr. Brown delivered over an estimated 1,200 babies. “I believe it’s the most joyous part of medicine – being a participant in the birth of a child,” he said. “It’s been an honor and a privilege to be a part of that. I loved taking care of expectant mothers with their excitement and anticipation of the new child, and I just love newborn babies. All of the obstetrical nurses knew I loved to rock and hold each baby I delivered!”
“Family medicine has been extremely rewarding for me,” he said, “and the most rewarding aspect has really been the relationships with people, and the honor of taking care of multiple generations of families. I have a lot of families where I’ve taken care of 5 generations of their families. There are many persons I have taken care of for 30 years or more! At this point in my career, that’s the most valuable part – the relationships I’ve developed over the years.”
Following his retirement, Dr. Brown intends to spend his time living ‘more’. “I’m going to ride by bike more. Fly my airplane more. Travel and see my grandchildren more. Read more,” he said. He is also anxious to get the Blue River Rail Trail connected into town, which has been a passion project for him. “That’s a project I’ve been intimately involved with for over a decade, and I’m anxious to see it come to completion soon, as we connect into town.”
Dr. Brown and his wife Sherry live in Marysville, and have been married for 30 years. They have five children, Sarah Blair-Graham and Brent, Wilder, Idaho; Laura Brewster, Boise, Idaho; Jessica Powell and Justin, Newton; Michael Brown and Nattahmon, Slidell, La., Nicole Shaw and Luke, Denver, Colo. They have five grandchildren, Anna, Campbell, Kenny, LaVetra, and James.
In addition to his medical practice, Dr. Brown has actively served in the community over the years. He is the chairman of the Blue River Rail Trail board of directors, a member and past president of the Marysville Rotary Club, and a member of the United Methodist Church. He has long been a supporter of Marysville athletics, and served as a sideline physician for the high school football team for over 25 years.
As he finishes his time at CMH, Dr. Brown said the thing he will remember most about his years as a physician are the relationships with people – “with patients, with their families, and with our staff,” he said. All are invited to wish him well at the reception on Friday, June 28. A short presentation will be given at 5 p.m.
For those unable to attend, cards or letters may be addressed to Community Memorial Healthcare, Attn: Dr. Randy Brown, 708 N. 18th St., Marysville, KS 66508. Photos are also welcome, and may be sent to Community Memorial Healthcare, Attn: Ashley Kracht.