Physician profile: Daniel Bow, D.O.

Name: Daniel Bow, D.O.

Work: Internal Medicine physician, Baldwin Family Health Care, Baldwin, Michigan

Undergraduate: Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, Michigan

Med School: Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan

Residency: Botsford General Hospital, Farmington Hills, Michigan

Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) like Family Health Care (FHC) in Baldwin, Michigan, are vital to rural areas. Health centers must meet specific criteria to qualify as FQHCs, including serving underserved populations, offering sliding fee scales, providing comprehensive services, having ongoing quality assurance programs and having governing boards of directors. 

Physicians who have federal loans may be particularly interested because working at an FQHC allows for loan repayment of employed physicians. Baldwin FHC, where Bow practices, is the third-oldest FQHC in the country. The National Health Service Corps, which connected Bow with Baldwin FHC, offers tax-free loan repayment to health care providers who choose to go where they are most needed including NHSC-approved FQHCs.

How did you become an FQHC physician?

There are different routes to be taken. For me, I found Baldwin Family Health Care while I was a student at Michigan State. I joined the National Health Service Corps, and they connected me with Baldwin. So the National Health Service Corps paid for some of my schooling. At Baldwin, money has been provided to pay back my student loans while I am working. I believe the state of Michigan has a similar program.

What is your workweek like?

I work [a] set workweek, [and] there’s a call schedule to be available to patients after hours to answer questions. There are two other physicians at the center in addition to a physician assistant and a nurse practitioner. [Among] all of us, we handle the call schedule. We rotate for a full week [among] the five of us.

What do you like best about working for an FQHC?

That’s easy to answer: mainly the patients. They’re basically hardworking people who live in underserved areas. A lot of them don’t even have the resources that would possibly be available to them elsewhere. I feel like I’m making more of a difference to the people living in an underserved area.

Is there anything you don’t like?

The commute. … I don’t live in the same area due to family constraints. That, in a way, can be a challenge, but it can also be mind-cleansing. The commute is the biggest thing—just getting there. However, that’s the whole point of the health center. It’s sometimes a difficult area to get to. That’s why there can be difficulty recruiting. Yet that shouldn’t sway anybody because I think the benefits far outweigh the bad.

What advice do you have for physicians interested in FQHCs?

Regarding this or any other job, I would say to visit and do your footwork, investigate and make sure that where you are going is where you want to be. When I teamed up with NHSC, Baldwin FHC was not the only FQHC that I was able to visit. 

There are other places that are HPSA-qualified [Health Professional Shortage Areas]. I visited all of the places and went to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, which is pretty remote. I decided on Baldwin FHC because of the benefits the practice offers.

Would any specialty be able to work for an FQHC?

It’s mostly primary care. When I say primary care, I’m talking about family practice. I believe pediatrics, internal medicine, gynecology and psychiatry are applicable. I don’t think it applies to orthopedics or surgeons.

What surprised you?

Being in an area where I thought there wouldn’t be resources, I was surprised at the number of resources that were actually available. For instance, we actually have a dental center in the same building. So if a patient has a dental need, it’s just down the hall. 

The resources are a little more than if I were in a private practice. In the U.S., the funding for mental health has really been cut back over the years. In our clinic, because of a grant and the work of the CEO and CMO, we have a behavioral health specialist on site. They’ve been working very hard to foster this because there are a lot of mental health issues out there. 

It’s a nice bonus to have those specialties readily available for patients. We also provide pharmacy, radiology and laboratory services on-site—kind of one-stop shopping for our patients’ health care needs.

Anything else?

If a physician is looking to make a difference, this is the type of facility he or she would want to work in. Most of us go into medicine to help others, and this is a great opportunity to do just that.