September 4, 2009 7:10 AM
The halls of the Santa Barbara County Clinic were filled Thursday morning for the dedication and naming of a specialty wing in honor of the late Stephen R. Birch, M.D.
Family, friends, colleagues and even patients gathered for the dedication, which began at 8:30 a.m.
Born in Ann Arbor, Mich., Dr. Birch was the first-born son of Dr. Larry and Roberta Birch.
He received his undergraduate degree in 1973 from Jacksonville University. He then went on to medical school at the University of Miami, where he received his medical degree in 1977. After finishing his orthopedic training in 1982, Dr. Birch and his wife, Alice, moved to Santa Barbara, where he spent the next 25 years working at the office of Peus, Birch, Kahmann, Gallivan and Romero.
Dr. Birch passed away on April 19 at the age of 62 when the plane he was flying went down over the Gaviota Coast.
Dr. Birch was an orthopedic doctor with a private practice located in downtown Santa Barbara. He donated a significant amount of his time to the Santa Barbara Clinic, where he has offered his services for 23 years.
Dr. Elliott Schulman, the outgoing director of the Santa Barbara County Department of Health, made the opening statements at the ceremony acknowledging Dr. Birch and his mark on this community.
"Today we are here to honor Steve as the professional he was, (although many of) you are here to honor Steve as the man he was ... Steve is the epitome of what this clinic is all about," said Dr. Schulman, adding that Dr. Birch wasn't worried about himself in terms of the health risks he faced working in a clinic. He was concerned about what was the right thing to do, Dr. Schulman said.
Debra Nichols, Dr. Birch's cousin, told the News-Press that Dr. Birch was dedicated to everything he did whether it was medicine, working with patients, hanging out with his friends, or being with his family.
Ms. Nichols added that there was nothing Dr. Birch wasn't good at.
"He was an excellent doctor, but he was amazing outside the office as well and was outstanding in water skiing, snowboarding and was a fantastic pilot. Most of all though he was a wonderful father," Ms. Nichols told the News-Press.
During the dedication of the specialty wing to Dr. Birch, Ms. Nichols shared a story of "Christmas at the Birch house." She commented about how Dr. Birch generously offered his medical attention to his family members on Christmas day. "I have back problems, and was at a 90-degree angle and Steve injected me." Dr. Birch also helped out two other family members that day, and Ms. Nichols said "that's just the way Steve was."
"Dr. Birch donated many hours of his time to help others and he touched a lot of people. Dr. Birch symbolizes what a dedicated medical community we have in Santa Barbara. We are lucky to have specialists like him" who are willing to donate their time, said 2nd District County Supervisor Janet Wolf.
Ms. Wolf added that Dr. Birch was not concerned with the health care reform issues today; his business was healing and that's what he did.
According to the Santa Barbara County Clinic manager, Lou Ellen Scott, the County Clinic provides service to underprivileged members of the community and those members of the community who do not have health insurance.
The specialty wing is where specialists like an orthopedic doctor or a gynecologist, for example, would come and donate their time to see patients who otherwise would not have the opportunity to receive medical attention.
The specialty wing is now known as the Stephen R. Birch M.D. Specialty Wing.
A plaque was mounted in the center hall of the specialty wing of the clinic with a picture and some information about him.
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