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‘Medicines cure diseases but only doctors can cure patients.’    

With the opening of his office for the practice of general medicine and surgery, Dr. Willis V. Crawford becomes Troy’s latest family doctor.  Until recently, he served in the fulltime position of pathologist and director of laboratories at Edge Memorial Hospital.

Prior to his five years residency training in pathology, Dr. Crawford spent 11 years in Crossville, where he owned a clinic and practiced general medicine and surgery.

He is a graduate of the University of Alabama and the Medical College of Alabama.  He received his specialty training at University Hospital and the Baptist Medical Centers in Birmingham.

He served as chief of pathology and director of laboratories at Mercy Hospital in Birmingham prior to moving to Troy in 1974.  Since his move to Troy, he has taught family practice through the Medical College of South Alabama and served as director of the family practice residency program in Troy.  At present, he is serving as chief of staff at Edge Memorial Hospital.  He also is president of the Pike County Medical Society.

Dr. Crawford is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians.  He is a member of the Southern Medical Association, the Academy of Clinical Pathologists, the Medical Association of the State of Alabama, the Pike County Medical Society and the Flying Physicians Associations.  He has received numerous Physician Recognition Awards from the American Medical Association.

His office is located in the Doctor’s Office Building on the grounds of Edge Memorial Hospital.  Included in his facilities are a fully equipped laboratory with hospital type equipment and the latest diagnostic aids.  According to Dr. Crawford, he hopes to emphasize patient education and the prevention of disease as well as treating already existing problems.

Serving with him are Julianne Rushing; Frances King, L.P.N., Patsy Reynolds; Mary Krogh, and his wife, Nita.  Four members of his staff are certified in cardiac resuscitation and other emergency medical care.

When asked why he was willing to leave the shorter hours of a hospital based specialist for a more grueling schedule, Dr. Crawford answered, “I saw a real need in Troy for another family doctor.  Since my heart has always been in treating patients, I decided to go back into fulltime family practice.”  He said he will continue to do the pathology at Edge Memorial Hospital and Crenshaw County Hospital part-time.

The Crawford’s are parents of three children:  Wynne, a junior medical student at the Medical College of Alabama; Nilha, a senior at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, and Trent, a sophomore at Troy State University.

All of these articles can be found in previous editions of The Troy Messenger.  Stay tuned for more.  Dianne Smith is the President of the Pike County Historical, Genealogical and Preservation Society.