Connect

This is the latest installment in our Connect article series “Hope at Work” — showcasing inspiring stories about how our team members contribute to UVA Health’s 10-year strategic plan: “One Future Together Health and Hope for All.” No matter where you work, you have an opportunity to inspire hope in others. These stories show how:

The UVA Health physician who established what’s been lauded as one of the most successful medical practices in Charlottesville is retiring after a nearly 40-year career. Barbara Post, MD, FACP, has served as Medical Director of UVA Health Northridge Internal Medicine since she launched the practice in 1989 for the Department of Internal Medicine — taking Northridge Internal Medicine from an office of one physician (herself) to as many as eight, then back to the current group of seven. Dr. Post has been responsible for up to 30 team members and 3,000 patients — ranging from the disadvantaged, to patients who have flown from all around the world to seek her care.

In addition, “Most UVA Health physicians have clamored to claim her as their personal doctor,” reveals Dr. Post’s Northridge Internal Medicine colleague and friend Mark Lepsch, MD. “Somehow, she manages to make space for all!”

Turns out, it was a chance encounter at Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport that led to Dr. Post launching Northridge Internal Medicine.

Origin Story

Dr. Post was born in Chicago. She set her sights on a healthcare career, earning her bachelor’s degree in biology from Knox College and her MD from the University of Illinois. She came to UVA Health for an Internal Medicine residency.

Dr. Post then returned to her Midwestern roots in Champaign, Illinois, as a rural primary care physician — seeing patients in the hospital, emergency room, and clinic — while starting a family. After three years, she wanted to narrow her practice to outpatient medicine, and mentor young minds by teaching medical students and medical residents.

Chance Encounter

During a long weekend in 1989, Dr. Post returned to Charlottesville looking for a new position. At the airport, she ran into a mentor she’d met during her residency, Danny Becker, MD, who told her UVA Health was looking for a leader to start a new Internal Medicine practice at Northridge. (Decades later, in 2014, both also would become the first two clinicians of the year honored by UVA Faculty Physicians with the Master Clinician Award.)

Dr. Post was hired by the internationally renowned expert in infectious diseases — and Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine — Edward Hook, MD.

‘A Humble Start’

Dr. Post and her family then moved back to Charlottesville, where she launched Northridge Internal Medicine and joined UVA School of Medicine faculty. For two years, she served as the sole practitioner at Northridge. She recalls a “humble start — seeing one patient at a time.”

And one by one, as other non-UVA Health offices left the building, more UVA Health practices moved in, and the Northridge Internal Medicine practice grew.

Meeting Challenges Head-On

From 2009 to 2011, Dr. Lepsch says Dr. Post “faced perhaps the biggest challenge of her career” — converting 25 years of paper patient data into electronic medical records. “Despite being quite computer averse, she met the challenge head on,” he remembers. "She learned the EpicCare EMR and led by example. All with a sense of humor — and even though she wasn’t getting much sleep!”

All along, Dr. Post managed work, a family with three children, home, and community. She’s been a Scout troop leader, community volunteer, and more. “And now, after 37 years of taking care of the people who make up our community — as well as practice partners, nurses, techs, and staff — Barbara deserves a break,” says Dr. Lepsch. “While so many others would’ve retired years earlier, she chose to keep going … out of dedication, service, and sense of responsibility.”

“Our patients are great!” hails Dr. Post. “As are my colleagues! We work hard together to operate as a group providing support and knowledge to each other and taking care of each other’s patients when needed. Of course, we regularly see our patients to maintain their health, but when they are sick, they know they can call us and get in quickly to see us. My partners and I are very devoted to that concept. My practice partners are bright, hardworking, and devoted to excellent patient care. I have succeeded in my practicebecause of their support and friendship.”

She says she’s cared for some patients for decades, and in some cases, generations of families. “Being connected with University Medical Center and the Department of Internal Medicine is also a lovely balance,” she adds. “It gives the physicians an independent practice environment, but being owned by and connected to the University of Virginia, we have the opportunity to teach the next generation of doctors. We interact with so many bright colleagues throughout the medical center who are very generous with their time and knowledge to help us provide care for our patients.”

Diane Barros, MD, will serve as the new Medical Director of Northridge Internal Medicine upon Dr. Post’s retirement.

Moving Medicine Forward

What does it also mean to Dr. Post to support that next generation of physicians? “It's wonderful for those of us who practice medicine to teach medicine,” she shares. “It’s also a nice way to introduce patients to young trainees in medicine. “It is important not only to pass on the medical knowledge to trainees but also to model the practice of medicine for them."

And in turn, “The medical students and medical residents keep us smart!”

What’s Next?

Dr. Post has a new bicycle which she loves to ride, she enjoys time in her garden which is badly in need of more time and attention, and because her patients know she loves to read — they’ve grown her home library by more than 50 books! “The idea of finally sitting down with a book and reading it without interruption will be lovely!” she beams.

Dr. Post also will volunteer locally, and visit her growing extended family (“Raising my children was the greatest joy of my life!” and now she has four grandchildren with whom to share the love.) She plans to spend more time in her peaceful cabin in Northern Wisconsin to take in the Northern Lights, bike, kayak, canoe, and observe and learn about wildlife.

See the family photos:

Above, Barbara Post, MD, FACP, shares smiles with grandson Micah!