By his own estimate, Dr. John Steven Lavengood has delivered more than 1,200 babies in Durango, and he continues to care for many of them.
“I was at a high school graduation party, and I realized there were 34 kids there I delivered,” Lavengood said. “That’s part of the fun. In a small community, you really become part of their family.”
That’s the allure of practicing in a small, close-knit community, he said.
Lavengood will head to Colorado Springs on Friday to accept the Family Physician of the Year Award, a prestigious accolade that has only been awarded to two Durango-based doctors in its history.
“It’s quite an honor to be down here and have peers and colleagues from across the state nominate me for this award,” said Lavengood, who practices family medicine at Mercy Family Medicine.
The award is presented by the Colorado Academy of Family Physicians, an organization that represents more than 2,200 practicing and retired family physicians, family medicine residents and medical students throughout the state.
The only other Durango physician to receive the award was Dr. Martin Pirnat in 2006, also of Mercy Family Medicine.
According to Lynlee Espeseth, director of communications, marketing and membership for the academy, a committee comprised of peers as well as past winners selects the awardees.
“It’s offered to physicians who show an outstanding level of dedication to patient care … who really make health care better not only for their own patients but for the whole community,” she said.
Espeseth said Lavengood, 60, stood out for going over and above for his patients, making home visits for elderly patients, speaking at funerals and caring for generations of the same family.
She added that Lavengood also has been active in making health care innovative, as well as involving himself in payment reform initiatives that have become a national issue.
“He really represents the full spectrum of what we think makes a fantastic family physician,” Espeseth said. “And it’s true that small communities rally around their physicians pretty strongly.”
Lavengood, a Colorado Springs native, graduated from Fort Lewis College in 1980 with a degree in biology and chemistry, and then spent a year at Colorado State University in graduate studies.
But it was during a year off from school that he realized his true calling, as he worked as an orderly at St. Anthony North Health Campus in Westminster. He promptly enrolled in the University of Colorado-Denver’s medical school.
During a residency, Lavengood worked for longtime Durango doctor Dr. Joseph Murphy. In 1989, Murphy offered Lavengood a job at the Durango Medical and Surgical, which at the time was a private practice.
Four years ago, Centura Health, parent company of Mercy Regional Medical Center, purchased the practice, where Lavengood also serves as director of primary care services.
He’s also seen Southwest Colorado’s health system grow over the years. When he started, the area lacked any real access to specialty care, which forced residents to drive to Denver, Grand Junction or Albuquerque.
“Now we have a good array,” Lavengood said.
And, of course, he’s been in the throes of the tumultuous health care industry. But regardless, Lavengood said he has tried to remain focused on the patients, despite what happens politically.
“I’ve tried to practice the best medicine I can and try to remain patient focused, as opposed to physician focused,” he said.
David Bruzzese, spokesman for Mercy, said Lavengood was instrumental in implementing a comprehensive primary care service, which connects discharged emergency room patients with follow up, primary care.
“That program significantly lowered the 30-day readmission rate,” Bruzzese said.
Another colleague, Christine Gerding, administrator at Mercy Family Medicine, also said in a prepared statement that Lavengood has improved primary care for the community of Durango.
“Dr. Lavengood is clearly an outstanding mentor, physician and colleague. He is a wise counselor, an excellent example of integrity and civility, and is as highly respected as anyone in the practice of family medicine,” Gerding said.
Lavengood’s wife, Tamra, is an RN and clinical performance coordinator at Mercy. The two met at Fort Lewis College in the 1980s and have four children, ages 27 to 20: John, Kathryn (also a nurse at Mercy), Emily and Matthew.
In his free time, he said he likes to fly-fish and hike.
A former wrestler, Lavengood also is active with the Durango Youth Wrestling Association and the Durango High School Wrestling Team.
“In a larger city, I might never see a patient again,” he said. “But in Durango, you cross each other’s lives a lot. It makes you more invested.”
jromeo@durangoherald.com
