Dr. Raymond Is Retiring
By Bonita Wilborn
After 25 years as an Ob/Gyn, Dr. Robert Raymond is retiring from private practice but will continue to work in the medical field. He has a position at a hospital in South Carolina through May 2020. He plans to retain his privileges at the hospital in Fort Payne in case he should want to return. “He’s going to do what he likes to do, which is delivering babies,” commented Sylvia, Dr. Raymond’s Office Manager.
Robert Raymond was raised in Mississippi. He attended college at Mississippi State University, went to Old Miss for medical school, went to Louisiana State University for residency in Ob/Gyn, and then received his Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Auburn University. Dr. Raymond came to DeKalb County, Alabama, and went into private practice in 1995. From then until 2010 he maintained his practice on the hospital campus as it was more practical to be near the hospital for those deliveries that might occur at any minute day or night. When being on call 24/7/365 became more than one human could continue for a long period, Dr. Raymond decided to stop delivering babies and simply become a “woman doctor”, that is a doctor that specializes in women’s health. So, with the need to be near the hospital a thing of the past, Dr. Raymond purchased the building located at 2615 Gault Ave N, in Fort Payne, which has housed his practice since 2010.
Dr. Raymond commented, “I’ve taken care of people here for a long time. I’ve had a lot of mixed emotions in the last few weeks. I’ve been telling patients that I’m retiring, sending out letters, and getting hugs. I had three patients this morning, and all of them have been with me for over 20 years. It was important to me not to leave them hanging. Dr. York has agreed to take my patients’ records and make them available to them if they should want to go somewhere else or take care of them if they need something. I plan to work pretty heavy for a little while and then work about half-time. I’m planning to travel to see my kids, but I’ll always work.”
Robert Raymond is married and has three children and seven grandchildren. He is a self-proclaimed “Jack of all Trades.” In addition to his successful medical practice, he is also proficient at several other things, including carpentry; he helped in adding 3000 square feet and a very large deck onto his home as well as the remodeling of his current office building. “I like lots of things,” he explained.
Dr. Raymond concluded by saying, “The fact that there is a God is very clear to me. Whatever I am, there are three reasons for it: My mother loved me enough to control me, the grace of God, and my own will to do what had to be done. I have been blessed with good people. My longest-standing friend lives in Como, Mississippi. We started college together in 1979. I had graduated from high school in 1978, and I didn’t know if I wanted to go to college, but a couple of years in the asphalt roofing plant convinced me that I wanted to be in college. It’s been a good ride.”
Dr. Raymond Is Retiring