Sheridan Family Practitioner Enjoys Challenge of Seeing All Ages

As he was growing up in Sheridan, Seth Easley, MD, was influenced by a next door neighbor who was the town doctor and by his mother’s brother who was a physician.

“Because of my association with them, I was introduced to medicine at an early age,” he said. “I saw how they helped people and was impressed by that. Also, I was really interested in the sciences in high school and college.”

Most of his family still lives in the Sheridan area. Now, associated with the Winston Clinic in Sheridan, Easley graduated from Sheridan High School in 1995 and a few years later, Lyon College. He completed medical school at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, and did his residency in family medicine at the Area Health Education Center in Pine Bluff.

After a brief stint practicing emergency medicine in Hot Springs, he returned to family practice. That’s where his heart lies. “In family practice I see all ages, and I really enjoy the interaction with people,” he said. “I’m familiar with a lot of people in Sheridan and know them. It’s a relaxed setting and I get to know patients and their families.”

Easley sees family practice as getting to know people and problem solving. “It’s a good thing to get to know patients and help them work through problems,” he said. “There’s a lot of reward in helping people.”

Of course all that variety in family practice can be challenging too. “We see everything by not being in a specialized field. We have some knowledge in many things, but we get a lot of problems we’re not able to solve. That’s when we rely on referrals,” he said.

When it comes to challenges, Easley said he could talk for hours about the huge increase in paper work and managed medicine. Like all healthcare providers, he faces the challenges of dealing with government health systems and private programs. “The paper chase is growing. I can’t prescribe certain medicines because they’re not approved. We must justify what we prescribe and what we do,” he said. “Not having control of how we practice and the problem with reimbursements are real issues. Things have really gotten entangled.”

He laments that the paper chase is growing as documentation for billing is getting bigger. “We have more people involved in paperwork now, and it’s not just billing. Patient charts have really grown too,” he added.

Easley says if he weren’t a practicing physician he would definitely be teaching. In fact, he’s thought about looking into some part-time teaching.

Bart Reid, a sales representative for Smith and Nephew, a Memphis-based medical equipment company, has been friends with Easley since their days at Sheridan High School. Their parents were best friends so the two boys became good friends even though Easley is a couple of years older than Reid.

“We’ve stayed buddies and always stayed in touch. Now we’re also golfing buddies,” Reid said of his long time friend. “They get all types of different cases at the Winston Clinic so Seth has really got to be on his game.”

The two hung out together in high school and had similar interests. In professional life, their paths crossed again when Reid became a pharmaceutical representative and later joined Smith and Nephew. The relationship also became professional on a personal level. “As I had children it was important to have a knowledgeable doctor but also one who has a genuine interest in them,” Reid said. “When we started seeing Seth, my oldest son was diagnosed with autism. Additionally, he is severely allergic to some foods and other things, and has other complications. Seth became the most important person to our family. He provided a lot of helpful information when our son was diagnosed as autistic. I can’t say enough about how talented and caring he is.”

Reid feels it’s Easley’s caring and personal interaction that make the difference in the quality of care that’s delivered. “In a small town, we interact with everyone all the time so it’s very important to have a family physician you can trust and to whom you’re not just a number,” he said. “Seth is easy going and laid back. He’s done an outstanding job taking care of all of us, including me because I’m beat up from playing college basketball.”

Living again in Sheridan, Reid points out that a physician is very important to his family. “One of our three children is in there every month,” he said. “If we need something, we can call Seth.”

Easley, 34, thinks folks might be surprised to learn that he and his wife, Hailey, met on a blind date that was set up by mutual friends determined to make a good match. “I must have gone on fifteen blind dates,” he said with a laugh, “but that one had a happy ending. We’ve been together eight years and have a one-year-old daughter, Austin.”

When not working, this practitioner enjoys spending time with his family and two dachshunds and tries to get on the golf course as much as possible. “My wife and I enjoy exercising together and eating out,” he said. “I like to jog and go trout fishing when I can. My reading material mainly consists of medical journals.”

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