Arizona border community could soon lose its sole doctor

“I can’t extend it forever. It’s a movable goal post, but at this point, not that far,” Smith said, adding that United Community Health Center might need to lean on existing providers in the area for care. 

Jon Reardon, the CEO of the organization, said the network is actively looking for Smith’s replacement: “We have yet to find a replacement, so he’s continued on with us for at least half a year, at least through summer.”

“I am not confident at all. I’m scared, I’m anxious that I won’t find a replacement,” Smith said. “It’s not because I don’t like the job. I love this place, I love Arivaca. This has been the best job that I could have had, I think, in my life.” 

Smith isn’t alone in experiencing this bittersweet, prolonged passing of the torch.

Peggy and Jon Rowley live on a 23,000-acre ranch in Arivaca, with parts of their home built with adobe bricks about 200 years ago. Jon has Parkinson’s disease and has difficulty getting in and out of the car, so Smith stops by the house on his journey out of town and back toward his home in Tucson as needed.

Already, they’ve had to abandon some appointments and specialists that are just too inconvenient to get to. 

“As he gets less mobile, it’s like, well, we don’t really need to go see that doctor. We don’t really need to go take care of that. And that’s what you start to do. You start not to go. And that’s bad for him,” Peggy added.

These home visits have been invaluable for the Rowleys, Peggy said. But the concern of working with a new doctor as Jon’s disease progresses weighs on her.