DR . WHO ?
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT CARMEL PERSON , MD
Aaron Burch
If you have elderly friends or family in Louisville , chances are good that your life has been touched by Dr . Carmel Person . As the medical director of Norton Geriatrics , the Norton Transitions program and six post-acute rehabilitation centers as well as co-director of Norton House Calls with Dr . Kitty Henry , Dr . Person is one of the guiding forces behind geriatric care in Jefferson County . It has become her life ’ s work , and she continues to advocate for the wellbeing of seniors in all facets of her career .
“ I couldn ’ t be positioned more perfectly for my passion , my training or my personal experience of being a caregiver to sick parents ,” she said . “ It means a lot , being able to reflect and see what the last 35 years have produced .”
However , there may have been no one more surprised by her own abilities and success in the health care community than Dr . Person herself . Growing up in Okolona as the only daughter of a working class Catholic family , being a doctor hardly crossed Carmel ’ s mind . She was more interested in … just about everything else .
“ My family was very Catholic . We went to St . Rita ’ s Parish , same pew , same mass . My dad was an usher . He had been a kid at St . Joe ’ s Orphanage and my mother grew up poor , so they tried to give us everything they didn ’ t have ,” she said . “ My dad built a half basketball court in the back for my two brothers , Danny and Kevin . I would be out playing in the dirt , very tomboy . I ran track , played a lot of softball . We had a cool family .”
Dr . Person started playing organ at age 8 and by 12 was performing at churches and for weddings . She also played on the first organized Jefferson County High School girls ’ basketball team . Sports , playing music , Girl Scouts , jazz and tap dance , baton , rock and roll : there were a million things to think about that were not health care .
Dr . Carmel Person in Capri , 2015 .
“ Health care wasn ’ t on the radar when I was a kid ,” Dr . Person said looking back , but it was still a necessary part of her life . Her mother , Mary Rita , suffered from chronic illness beginning when Carmel was just 11 , and her health would wax and wane for nearly two decades .
“ I was the only girl , and we were very traditional in our roles . So , whatever needed to be done from a caregiver ’ s standpoint fell to me ,” Dr . Person said . “ She wasn ’ t always sick but when she was hospitalized , I stayed with her .”
Just down from home on a very busy street was Wesley Manor , a retirement community where she made fast friends with the residents .
“ They put on make-up , played piano and loomed pot holders . I gravitated to those ladies and I thought they were the next best thing to sliced bread ,” she said smiling . “ I remember going home and my mom saying , ‘ Carmel Joy , where you been ?’ And me saying , ‘ Oh nowhere !’ And she knew I was hanging out at Wesley Manor .”
The seeds were planted for Dr . Person ’ s later work in medicine , but the tree hadn ’ t grown yet . As she got further into her teens , Carmel was more about rebellion and rock music . It was the 1970s after all .
“ My mother would say I was a bit of a free bird . That rebel part of me is in my DNA . For 10 years after high school , I did a bit of everything . I didn ’ t know what I wanted , but I didn ’ t want anything that resembled responsibility .”
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Editor ’ s Note : Welcome to Louisville Medicine ’ s member spotlight section , Dr . Who ? In the interest of simply getting to know each other as a society of colleagues , we ’ ll be highlighting random GLMS physicians on a regular basis . If you would like to recommend any GLMS physician member to the Editorial Board for this section , please e-mail aaron . burch @ glms . org or call him at 736-6338 .
JANUARY 2017 29