past few years ( further trips interrupted by the pandemic , but he ’ s ready to go back ) to perform procedures for women who do not have access to health care . “ You just go down there , see the patients , figure out what surgery they need , and schedule it and do it . There ’ s no insurance involved , no co-pays , no prior authorizations . It ’ s just taking care of patients who wouldn ’ t otherwise get care . They are so grateful , so humble , and so thankful .”
On one of those Nicaragua trips , his son Andy was able to join him as he was an OB-GYN resident at the time . His son is now a senior fellow in urogynecology at Indiana University and will move back to Louisville to join the Norton team next July when he is finished with his training . Dr . Doering and Debbie also have a daughter named Allison who is not only a supervisor for case managers at a local health care company , but also has her Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling . Debbie takes care of their home and is the gardener in the family . They have two Brittany dogs that they love and two grandchildren whom he describes as the “ light of our lives .” When they ’ re not waiting anxiously for the whole family to return to Louisville , they like to travel and be active , especially enjoying the outdoors with biking , hiking , skiing , kayaking and fishing . In his spare time , Dr . Doering also likes woodworking and building furniture .
With his son moving back to the area next year and joining the same group as him , he looks forward to spending time working together and letting their practices overlap somewhat before looking at retirement in the coming years . It ’ s hard for him to imagine , though , as it ’ s all still just as refreshing and exciting as it was 31 years ago when he first moved to Louisville .
“ You can get good at an operation if you do it often enough , but they ’ re never the same . It ’ s never boring to me . I ’ ve never been bored … and I ’ ve been doing it a long time .”
Kathryn Vance is the Communication Specialist at the Greater Louisville Medical Society .
DR . WHO
NOVEMBER 2021 39