She Practices the Human Touch

After deciding to be a stay-at-home mom, pediatrician Barbara Rugo Focht said goodbye to her other kids _ her patients.

But when the perfect location went up for sale for her dream job, Focht wanted to fight the corporate feel to today’s pediatrics by opening her own practice.

“To me, the problem with medicine now is that you never see
your own doctor and they never get to see their own patients,” she said. “The human touch is missing.”

Focht plans on making this happen with , which will be up and running Sept. 6 at 28 Grafton Common. 

Since she bought the old Fallon Clinic building back in the
spring, Focht has been brainstorming ideas on how to make her practice different from corporate practices.

For starters, Focht plans on making herself available an hour earlier than office hours to care for newborns. She created a breastfeeding room for mothers and has a lactation counselor at hand for those who
need assistance.

Focht also said that she is open to offering complementary medicine to her patients.

"I have some patients that want to do herbal medications, massages and acupuncture,” said Focht. “I do want parents to question things…and I will work with parents to find a way to treat their kids.”

But what makes Kids on the Common Pediatrics unique is
its Parent Council, which Focht utilizes for feedback about her practice.

“I wanted to develop a practice that would meet families’ needs,” she said. “I wanted to get input from parents. It’s the way to go.”

Focht said the Parent Council consists of mothers from
different towns who have children with various ailments, such as asthma or ADHD. Focht and her staff meet with the council two to three times a year for feedback and to give advice to others with children who have the same problems.

“These mothers represent different types of needs and they can help others with the same issues,” she said. “It’s a mom-to-mom thing.”

Focht also said even though she is the only doctor in her practice, she has a good team ready to satisfy new patients.

But with almost 300 patients signed up for her practice and 100 appointments booked, Focht’s current challenge is renovating her office before September comes.

“The building is over 200 years old _the inside has to be done in two weeks,” she said. “Right now we are painting and putting in new floors.”

Regardless, Focht is ready to care for and build relationships with new families through Kids on the Common Pediatrics.

 “If we could take the best from both sides, [technological methods] and human touch, that would be ideal,” she said. “I don’t see why that can’t happen.”

For more information, call (774) 545-9777 or email kidsonthecommon@gmail.com