TAMC expands skin care services
PRESQUE ISLE — In a continuing effort to meet rising demand and to provide county residents increased health care access, TAMC is expanding its dermatology services beginning this month, and an already familiar face will dedicate more of his time to help make it happen.
Dr. Nathan S. Uebelhoer, DO, board certified in dermatology, has been a member of TAMC’s consulting staff since 2005 providing services at the hospital’s outpatient specialty clinics at North Street Healthcare on a regular, but limited basis, as he worked full-time at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego until his recent retirement from active service. He will begin spending several additional days in The County each month, greatly increasing access to dermatological care for local residents.
“We are so pleased that Dr. Uebelhoer will be with us a greater number of days each month,” said Cam Hayward, manager of outpatient specialty clinics. “The demand for dermatology services in the region is so great and has only been growing. This will allow us to serve more patients and significantly cut the scheduling time for an appointment.”
According to Hayward, patients in Aroostook County have had limited access to dermatologists in the past, but all of that is about to change.
Other than Dr. Uebelhoer and Dr. David Horne, MD, who have each committed several days a month to traveling to Presque Isle from San Diego and New York, respectively, Hayward said, “There are no dermatologists north of Bangor.”
Of the dermatologists in the Bangor area, Hayward reported at least one has recently reached retirement age.
Still, with the two dermatologists coming north on a regular basis, Hayward said the wait for a new patient to see one of them was “more than we would like it to be.” Even if a patient was willing to travel to the next nearest dermatologist accepting new patients in Portland or Brunswick, he or she could still expect a three- or four-month wait.
Dr. Uebelhoer agreed, adding, “It’s generally accepted that you need one dermatologist for every 10,000 people in a population. Across the entire country there is a need for more dermatologists, but that need is amplified in an area like Aroostook County where it is already underserved in a number of specialty areas.”
Now, Hayward says with the increase in number of days per month a dermatologist will be available, the wait time for new local patients will decrease.
“Between the two of them, we are going to have 15 to 17 days of dermatology coverage per month,” she said. “Since these two [doctors] have been coming here, they have built a service that is second-to-none.”
The services the providers offer run the full gamut of medical and surgical dermatological treatments.
“There’s very few things we can’t do here,” said Dr. Uebelhoer.
Services range from skin cancer surgery, facial surgeries and reconstructions, treatment for skin conditions like psoriasis and eczema, and basically, “anything that a dermatology practice would do in terms of cancer surgery and all of the medical and surgical aspects of dermatology,” said Dr. Uebelhoer.
Whether a patient wishes to be seen for a rash, a skin infection, a screening, or for something more serious like basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, melanomas, or other types of skin cancers, both Hayward and Dr. Uebelhoer say it is important for the patient’s primary care provider to remain involved in the process.
“Our clinic is all fed by primary care providers. We do not take self-referrals here. There needs to be a primary doctor involved in their care,” said Dr. Uebelhoer.
Hayward added that patients who think they are in need of dermatologic care should seek the advice of their primary physician.
Because he travels from San Diego, Dr. Uebelhoer will offer his services in Presque Isle for 10 consecutive days each month, including a weekend. The schedule will vary from month to month.
Dr. Uebelhoer received his doctor of osteopathy from the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1997.
“I only applied to one medical school and it’s because I was hoping to be able to serve in underserved areas. I did a lot of that in the Navy and I’ve been able to do that here,” he said, noting that the University of New England produces a lot of Maine physicians.
He completed his residency in dermatology at Naval Medical Center in 2004. He then went on to complete a fellowship in dermatologic surgery at Skin Care Physicians of Chestnut Hill in Massachusetts in 2005. He became board certified in dermatology in 2004.
Dr. Uebelhoer and his wife, Cynthia, have two children, Sarah, 5, and Christina, 7. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his family, playing piano, golf and hiking. He is also currently writing a number of articles for peer review journals, as well as a book on the treatment of traumatic and burn scars.
