By By LYDIA GRIMES – Features writer
Dr. Jonathan Southworth chose family medicine so he could get to know his patients.
And in a small town, he is getting to know them well.
Southworth is one of the newer doctors in Brewton; he took over the practice of Dr. Jimmy W. Adkisson when the latter retired in 2004.
Many of those specialists he refers to come to Brewton on a regular basis to see patients. That makes it easier for some patients to be able to see a specialist, and may be the only way they see a specialist.
Southworth praised the local medical community and said that the citizens of the Brewton area are lucky. The Brewton Medical Center is near the hospital, laboratories, West Gate Village, The Meadows, a radiation therapy and a well-equipped pharmacy, he said.
Family practice covers all ages. A patient may begin as a baby and continue with the same doctor for many years. A trust grows between the doctor, the patient and the patient's family.
Southworth was born in Birmingham, one of five children. His father worked with computers. He was a typical child growing up, he said, and was an average student in school. He played basketball throughout his school years and graduated from Erwin High School in 1989.
After graduation from high school, Southworth enrolled in the University of Alabama at Birmingham in fall 1989. He changed his mind a few times as to what he would study, but it always came back to the study of medicine.
He graduated in 1994 with a bachelor's degree and went straight into the graduate program at UAB. He graduated in 1996 with a master's degree in microbiology and worked for a year in microbiology at the college before going to medical school.
In 2001, Southworth entered West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine.
Osteopathic medicine (also known as osteopathy) is a branch of medicine which views the human body holistically, and emphasizes the prevention and treatment of illness and injury through the use of manual and physical therapies, along with traditional medical practices.
Southworth married Jolinda Nelson, a Brewton native, in 1996, between graduate school and medical school.
Dr. Adkisson was going to retire soon and it worked out that Dr. Southworth was able to take over his practice when he did retire.
Although being a doctor takes up most of his time, Southworth is quick to point out that his girls are very important and he spends as much time with them as possible.
He also likes to fish, but with so little free time, he would rather spend it with his family.