There are physicians who know from the moment they receive their first toy doctor kit that they want to grow up and save lives. And there are others that discover their passion later in life. Regardless of timing, their passion for helping others does not go unnoticed. And for Dr. Kurt Perry, a physician at eMedical Offices urgent care center in Middletown, his Top Doc recognition from New Jersey Monthly magazine is long overdue.
A New Jersey native, Dr. Perry grew up in Woodbridge. He briefly attended the University of Virginia with plans to pursue a career in engineering – a decision that was fueled by stellar math scores. Realizing he wanted to be more interactive with people than a computer, Dr. Perry moved back to New Jersey and attended Middlesex County College in Edison, for two years before receiving his bachelor’s degree in biology at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. He earned his medical degree from the University of Bologna, Italy, and completed his residency in internal medicine at Monmouth Medical Center.
After finishing his residency, Dr. Perry worked in the emergency department at Monmouth Medical Center, and was employed by the hospital - a rarity these days. Dr. Perry retired from emergency medicine in 1997.
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“The field seems to be for younger people. It’s hard to grow old in emergency medicine; it’s very intense. Younger people tolerate that better,” said Dr. Perry when asked if he misses working in the emergency department.
Leaving emergency medicine to work in urgent care was a natural transition for Dr. Perry. He spent the last five years with Monmouth Medical Center working in the express care division of the emergency department – treating similar aliments that he now sees at eMedical Offices urgent care center.
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When asked how he feels about urgent care, Dr. Perry said, “I love urgent care – I enjoy doing it. Urgent care seems like a new branch of emergency medicine; the real emergency medicine is heart attacks and trauma. Urgent care is more the stuff that needs to be taken care of with some degree of urgency but is not life threatening.”
Having started his career in 1978, Dr. Perry has experienced healthcare before electronic medical records and health reform. “I am one of the old doctors that prefer the simpler way,” said Dr. Perry. Advances in technology have simplified certain processes and overcomplicated others, in particular, record keeping. “You spend half the time with the patient and the other half documenting. The goal was to make things simpler, but it has probably taken away from patient care,” said Dr. Perry.
If there are any changes that make Dr. Perry happy it’s renovations to the Middletown eMedical Offices location: “Our urgent care center is staffed with board-certified emergency medicine physicians. We need to renovate the building to compete with other facilities in the area.”
The new building will be equipped with two additional exam rooms, including a child-friendly exam room; a state-of-the-art digital X-ray system, which will enable patients to receive copies of their X-rays on disk; and completely new furnishings, flooring and wall décor in a soothing, beach-themed color palette. The office will feature a worker’s compensation suite, which will centralize all of the services and equipment needed to provide occupational health services. This area will provide clinicians easy access to laboratory, X-ray, orthopedic and wound care services.
Initially pursuing a career in engineering then opting for a career in medicine, Dr. Perry has seen it all. Whether it is internal medicine or emergency medicine, Dr. Perry is getting back to basics and continuing to give patients great care with a smile at eMedical Offices urgent care.
Dr. Perry has been married for more than 40 years and has three sons. He lives in Lincroft, N.J., and is an avid boater.
eMedical Offices is located at 2 Kings Highway in Middletown; (732) 957-0707. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. For more information, call (732) 957-0707 or visit www.emedicaloffices.com.
