10/31/2017
To my patients and parents,
After 31 years of private practice in Cypress, I have decided to sell my practice to another pediatrician. This is a decision that I have agonized over for several years and the reasons why are complicated. I will try to explain the basics of this decision. First, I am 60 now and desire to have a schedule that allows for more time off, which is impossible as a solo practitioner. For many years I have gotten by on one or two one week vacations per year and the occasional three day weekend, and I am getting selfish in my old age. I plan to continue to work full time for many years to come and have no plans for retirement, but the only way I can have more time off is to give up the self employed thing and work for a larger entity. Second, while I still love being a pediatrician, I have grown weary of all of the stress attendant to being a small business owner in the modern world of managed care, government regulation and the explosion of the urgent care phenomenon. Reason number three is our daughters have been asking us for years to move to Austin to be near them and our grandsons, number four of which is due in a few weeks. We are very close to our daughters and it has been a strain on all of us not being in the same city. Also, as some of you know, Kathy has experienced several severe medical problems over the last three years, culminating in two extended hospitalizations in the last six months. She is a vital member of our office team, which made it difficult for us to keep the office running smoothly, not to mention being a tremendous emotional strain on me. She is doing well now, but it would be very nice to be nearer our family in case she has future problems. Being presented with the unexpected opportunity to leave my practice intact in the care of another pediatrician was the deciding last piece of the puzzle. All of these reasons make a move to Austin the best course of action for us. I plan to work there full time, but I will not be self-employed.
The new owner of the practice is Manaf Ahmad, M.D., FAAP. Dr. Manny, as most of his patients call him, is a well trained and highly skilled pediatrician with many years of experience in primary care pediatrics. He and I share many common traits in our approach to medicine and our style of practice. I chose to sell to him because I am certain that he will continue the exceptional care to which my parents are accustomed. He and I even have some overlap in training as he did his residency at the Texas Tech School of Medicine which is where I went to medical school. While he isn’t quite as old as I am, he has a wealth of experience in general pediatrics and a particular interest in treating children with AD/HD. He and his wife have three children and are exactly the kind of people with whom I think my parents can identify. It is my sincere hope that all of my parents will stay in the practice and give Dr. Ahmad a chance to prove to them what a fabulous pediatrician he is.
I will not be leaving right away. The plan is for me to continue to work part time as Dr. Ahmad transitions into the practice full time. So, I will be here for a while, which will give me the opportunity to see you and your children a few more times. Also, my office staff is not changing, so you will still be taken care of by Barbara and Cecelia and Mitchell, and Kathy will still be around for a while. There will simply be a few new faces in the office. I do wish I could go on doing this forever, or at least until every baby in the practice now finishes high school, but that is not practical. I have realized that it is time for me to move on to something and someplace different. It has been my privilege and distinct honor to care for your children for the last 31 years. I have been particularly touched over the years by how many of you former patients came back with your own children and allowed me to care for a second generation. There is no better career on earth. It sounds cliché, but it is absolutely true that I have never gotten up in the morning wishing that I did something else for a living. I am a truly fortunate man. Words fail completely to express the depth of my affection for all of you. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
Lee R. Dockray, M.D., FAAP
