Notebook Recollections

I used to be a doctor in West 7th for 50 years. (1975 to 2025).

I retired last week.

During that half century, I was sued for malpractice three times and investigated twice by the Minnesota Attorney General‘s office for alleged opioid medication over prescribing (exonerated). And in 2020, along with my provider partners, was forced out of the state-of-the-art facility we helped build on Randolph and West 7th.

But I’d still do it all over again.

I was grateful to be let into the lives of so many wonderful 7th Street St. Paul people. Probably 60,000 patient visits in those 50 years from 3,000 individual patients.

I am mucho grateful for the privilege of sharing life and death, joy and sorrow and worry and wonder with them. They are what made it worth getting out of bed every day for half a century.

I was grateful to see people for rashes, sore throats, sore knees. Bad marriages, children lost. Nasty diagnoses. Long forms to fill out. Lots of long forms to fill out.

Legendary West 7th family doc Greg Sprafka also gave 50 years to West 7th. His last years overlapped my early days. His final office was close to St. Luke’s hospital which would become United. I’d see him in the St. Luke’s doctors’ lounge.

“Rumsey, what kind of clinic are you running down there by Mancini’s?” he asked during one of these bakery bonanzas.

He’d see me and our new Dr. Ravi Balasubrahmanyan in the St. Luke’s intensive care unit at 3:30 in the morning.

Dr Sprafka even came by the clinic one afternoon and Ravi showed him around. Dr. Sprafka was impressed. “You guys are real doctors,” he told Ravi.

By 1982, our practice was expanding, exploding actually, in a good way. Doc S. took me and Ravi to Mancini‘s on an autumn Saturday night. It was packed, of course, but Mr. Nick Mancini himself had a prime table for Dr. Sprafka and his guests.

Ravi had roasted vegetables, salad and bread. No complaints there.

Dr S. and I went full carnivore. Filet mignon, onion rings, baked potato. Thinly sliced sausage on crispy bread rolls. He and I were snapping and growling by dinner‘s end.

In 1982 we moved across West 7th to the eastern end of Mancini’s. We were in a nightclub! Our back door opened directly into Mancini‘s Fireplace Room.

Dr. Kelly Macken joined Ravi and me in 1983 by way of St. Paul Ramsey (now Regions, formerly Ancker) Hospital. She brought her tremendous family practice OB expertise with and helped us start a family practice residency on-site.

In 1984 we moved across the alley from Mancini’s to an ad agency building’s ground floor.

Dr Sprafka was impressed with our new fire power and our new office location.

He then coincidentally retired in 1984.

One week later on a fine spring early morning, Ravi arrived at our new office

front door and came across three large cardboard boxes each filled with shoe boxes containing small manila envelopes. Each envelope contained a patient chart. Handwritten notes on large index cards with the office visit date and handwritten notes. “Sore throat-IM penicillin.” Workplace laceration-10 stitches, tetanus shot.”

Dr. Sprafka was handing his practice to us! Not selling it! Turning it over to us. Trusting us.

To be continued ….