Drs. Spitzer, Silverman To See Patients at Island Medical Center
By Sean Ely

Dr. Robert Spitzer and Dr. Ann Silverman

For the past 10 years, Ann Silverman and Robert Spitzer have seen patients at the Mackinac Island Medical Center when vacationing at their summer home here.

Dr. Silverman specializes in the treatment of abdominal and bowel disorders. Her husband, Dr. Spitzer, is a clinical associate professor of neurology at Wayne State University, specializing in neurological disorders.

They were both educated at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and both are on the "Best Doctors in America" list, rated in a survey by their peers.

"I feel we are trying to do a real service to the community," Dr. Spitzer said. "I find a huge difference from downstate, where people are used to just jumping in their car and going to see the doctor. On the Island, people are isolated so they tend not to get problems looked after. By making it more convenient to get quality specialty care, I think we improve the quality of life for people."

They began filling in for resident physician David Pastoor about 10 years ago, when he would leave the Island, and now get referrals from Dr. Donald Weersing, who is Mackinac Island's year-around physician now.

"On several occasions," Dr. Spitzer said, "we have detected some very severe, dangerous, or even life-threatening problems in Island residents, and we were able to get them promptly referred for appropriate care, sometimes including emergency surgery."

It is important, he said, to get an early diagnosis and to make it easy for patients here to see a specialist. Traveling to the mainland can be time-consuming, he noted, and some patients put it off.

The key to diagnosis, he said, is to listen to the patient.

"Too many specialists get hung up on testing and forget about the patient, who is trying to get better," he said. "Being isolated on the Island makes you focus back on the patient, which is really the way it should be in the first place. What I stress when I teach students and residents is to remember what Sir William Osler taught, 'The essentials of diagnosis are in the history.' My late mother, who was an internist and neuropathologist, used to say, 'The patient is telling you what is wrong. Listen to them.'"

The couple will see patients Wednesday, August 15 and Thursday, August 16 and appointments can be made through the medical center.