Family physician retires after 34 years
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It’s a true testament of ability when a doctor, about to retire, is still giving care to patients he had when his practice began. This is true for Dr. Steve Irwin, who is retiring this summer after 34 years of practice at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center. The Madsens of Polson chose Dr. Irwin as their family doctor 12 years ago on friends’ recommendations. “Throughout the years, (Dr. Irwin) has been not only an incredible doctor for our family, but also a great friend. His actions have always been backed with kindness and he prioritizes his patients above nearly all other things,” said Hannah Madsen. “He and my dad became close and have gone on hunting and fishing trips together.” Irwin was in pursuit of small town, rural living when he stumbled upon Polson in the early 1970s. After purchasing land on Flathead Lake, Irwin moved to Polson a decade later with his family and began working at the hospital in the spring of 1984. Irwin has a wife of 39 years, two sons, and two grandchildren. Dr. Irwin worked primarily as a family practitioner because he liked the birthto- grave concept of caring for people at all stages of life. During his career he delivered more than 500 babies, worked as a medical director for Polson Health and Rehab and Hot Springs Rehab, worked in the Emergency Room, done hospital medicine, office-based medicine, minor surgical procedures, has been the doctor at the prison facilities, and even wrote a weekly column for 10 years called House Calls covering everything from swimmer’s itch to pneumonia to heart failure. “Over the years I’ve kind of done the full spectrum of family practice,” Irwin said. To young doctors just beginning their practice, Dr. Irwin suggests that they treat their patients like family and to be ready for a lifetime of study due to the rapidly changing nature of medicine. When Irwin first started his practice in Indiana in 1972, there was no such thing as fiber optics, ultrasounds, or prescription drug abuse. HIV wouldn’t be diagnosed until 1983 and he only employed a handful of drugs to treat people — most of which aren’t used anymore. Lots of changes have occurred since then. “Most of it has been good; the technology has been wonderful,” Irwin said. The advancement in technologies such as scanning capabilities and better medicine are among the good that the years have brought. The negative consequences of this have been a decrease in personal relationships between doctor and patient because a detailed personal history is no longer required to determine what is wrong with a patient, according to Irwin. “That transition, I think, has taken a lot of the personalization out of medicine. We are just not as in touch with the patients. We don’t know them quite as well, we don’t talk to them quite as much, we don’t have the eye to eye contact, we don’t have the conversation, we don’t have the dialogue,” Irwin said. The relationship between doctor and patient is the whole reason Irwin wanted to become a doctor. The biggest reward, according to him, is seeing patients happy and healthy and enjoying life. “That’s our opium, that’s our nectar, is to have a happy, healthy patient,” Irwin said. “If everything works out well, if a patient recovers from an illness, if they become healthy, if they stay healthy, if they are happy, if they can go back to their lives happy and healthy, that’s the ultimate.” While it may be unusual for a nurse and doctor team to stay together for an extended period of time, Irwin has had the same nurse, Debbie Stuart, for 15 years. “He’s wonderful to work for,” said Stuart. Irwin dealt with many memorable cases while working at Providence, including one lady who believed that she was allergic to the sun and who refused to be treated in a room that had windows in it. Irwin successfully managed to talk the lady out of her fears, and looking back, laughs at the small victory. When Dr. Irwin started practicing medicine, he sought to live in a small community in a beautiful place and be able to look after his family. “I wanted to live in a small rural town that hopefully had good hunting and fishing … and I wanted to take good care of my patients,” Irwin said. “That was my goal and I have met that in spades, I really have.” Looking forward to retirement, Irwin is ready to enjoy time with his family, traveling, hunting and fishing. But the friendships and memories he has made as a doctor is going to make leaving hard. “I consider my patients good friends. They are my very good friends. I enjoy spending time with them. I enjoy taking care of them and that is what I am going to miss about leaving,” Irwin said. Dr. Kelly Bagnell worked alongside Irwin for 18 years and considers him a friend with a good heart and soul. “He was versed and diversified in what he did,” Bagnell said. Bagnell said Irwin was a good doctor who “balanced his life very well between his work and his family.” Irwin credits his wife Jan with keeping him sane, even in the roughest parts of his professional life. “She is such a support and ... such a loving wife,” Irwin said. “I have always known she is so strong behind me, and I also know right where she stands. And I know every night when I come home drained, she is going to be right there.” Irwin is also thankful for his two sons who, along with his wife, have been his lifejacket in the storm. It’s not easy being a doc’s kid,” Irwin said. “On a lot of Sundays when the sun was shining and the lake was nice, they would want to go out on the boat and I would be covering the emergency room and they never complained about that.” The community will miss him, Madsen said. “I think his current patients will experience a significant loss. I am sad for the people of Polson, but I am also so happy for (Dr. Irwin) stepping into this new stage of life,” Madsen said. A retirement party will be held for Dr. Irwin in the lobby of Providence St. Joseph Medical Center on Friday, July 29 at 6 p.m. The party is open to the public.
