Pierce looks forward to retirement and plans to spend more time hunting, golfing, and traveling.
After 29 years of doctoring in Sidney, Dr. Edward Pierce is readying himself for retirement. Pierce, who graduated in 1968 from Andrews University in Michigan, and completed medical school at Loma Linda University in California, began his career with a residency at Charles F. Kettering Memorial Hospital in Kettering, Ohio. He spent the following 12 years in private practice with a group of doctors at the Metropolitan Medical Center in Minneapolis, MN.
It was in August of 1987 that Pierce was recruited to the Sidney hospital; initially, he had planned on doctoring in Williston, ND, however an opportunity to move to Sidney and begin a private practice without partners presented itself.
"Here I was able have an independent business, which I ran for 25 years," Pierce said, adding that he has been a hospital employee for the last 5 years. "I've enjoyed working in a small community. Many patients are looking for stability and the medical community in Sidney has been stable for a long time. Some of my patients I've been seeing for 29 years and I've seen different generations of the same families, as well."
He adds that in the last few years, many friends and hospital employees have been retiring and leaving the area. Pierce and his wife, Marie, will continue to live in Sidney and retirement will give him more time for hunting, fishing, golfing, and traveling.
"I've always enjoyed the recreation in this area, and while I enjoy practicing and will miss it, the changes implemented during the current Democratic Administration have slowed us down considerably. I used to be able to see 25 to 30 patients a day and now I can only see 18 to 20," he commented of the mandatory electronic medical records. "It takes a considerable amount of time to input the information and because of that, I need more employees, which increases the cost of operating the practice."
Pierce will continue to serve as a Trustee for the Montana Medical Association, representing physicians in Eastern Montana and working with state legislature; the twice-yearly meetings in Helena also give him an opportunity to take his grandkids out for pizza and visit with his son, who lives in the state capital.
The avid hunter received a side-by-side shotgun as a farewell gift from Sidney Health Center, and there will be cake and coffee in the hospital cafeteria at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 30 for those who would like to stop by.
A retirement party will be held on Saturday, Aug. 27 from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the Elks to celebrate the physician's years of service. Dr. Pierce's last day at Sidney Health Center will be Monday, Aug. 31.
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