Westfield is saying goodbye to another well loved physician who has been caring for this community for decades. Dr. Roger Beneitone is leaving the uniquely personal and challenging world of primary care at the end of the month for a well-deserved retirement.
Dr. Beneitone has been my primary care physician, colleague and friend. He is an excellent,amazingly knowledgeable, thorough, kind, caring and unassuming physician. He is humble, respectful, honest and accessible. When you engage with him, you will also find he has a very entertaining, dry wit. This past week, at my last appointment with him, his medical assistant and I commiserated in our grief that he is leaving us.
Primary care focuses on wellness and prevention as well as disease and injuries. The first word that comes to mind when thinking of Dr. Beneitone’s care is thorough. I can personally attest that his thoroughness saved my life. He ordered lab tests after seeing me for respiratory symptoms. In my humble and obviously incorrect, subjective opinion, one of the tests seemed an unlikely cause of my ongoing symptoms. But based on that test result, he called the ED where I was working the next day and instructed me to sign in as a patient. I had more tests and was diagnosed with life threatening pulmonary embolisms.
I am but one of many who is forever grateful to him for saving my life. Showing appreciation for a primary care doctor is not usually an event for grandstands or front page hero awards.
Nevertheless, he deserves such accolades. Not only does he save lives, he treats his patients with kindness and respect. He gave me the time to talk to about my health, life, family and dogs. He educated himself thoroughly about my heart diagnosis and worked collaboratively with my cardiologist.
Since the pandemic, I have watched with empathy, friends, family and patients struggling to find a new primary care and get an appointment within the next year. Now, my empathy is my reality. Losing a great primary care is like losing a trusted friend.
Primary care is the foundation of keeping a patient healthy yet these providers are paid less and expected to do more. Over the last several years the administrative duties of primary care have become overwhelming. Many are retiring early or choosing other specialties. Those leaving medical school are also taking different clinical paths.
Delivering care has become more difficult. Although a physician has been educated, licensed and board certified in his/her specialty, insurance companies have taken away the ability to deliver best practice by dictating what tests and medications they will pay for.
Hospital administrations put more mandated guidelines on practice and time with patients. The shortage of primary care providers has overburdened those still practicing. Electronic medical record keeping has its value, but has providers staring at computers rather than patients.
The Massachusetts Health Policy Commission states that our commonwealth has the highest total physicians per capita but the fifth lowest share of all physicians who work in primary care. The commission found in 2024 that 40% of emergency department visits could have been treated in primary care office or prevented with timely primary care. Findings concluded that for every hour of patient care time, two hours are spent doing administrative and clerical tasks.
In January of this year, the Health Policy Commission along with the Executive Office of Health and Human Services were tasked with developing recommendations “to stabilize and strengthen the primary care system.” David Seitz, Executive Director states, “There is a lot of work that needs to be done to make this profession feel as valued as the studies show it to be and to make that an attractive profession for students to want to go into.” I suggest that committees, politicians and administrators can gain important information to fix this broken system by listening closely to those on the front line as well as patients. It seems this useful and cost-free resource is often overlooked.
With great respect and appreciation, I wish Dr. Beneitone peace, health and happiness. I hope as he leaves his office at the end of May, he knows that he and the work he did was greatly valued. It’s going to take a very special person to fill his shoes. We can only hope. Best wishes in the next chapter, enjoying life and time with the family and the dog. The next job as a grandfather will be the most important, life changing and joyful. Happy retirement!
Take care of yourself and someone else.
Juanita Carnes is a nurse practitioner with 39 years of experience in a hospital emergency department and urgent care facilities. She served 30 years on the Board of Health in Westfield, Massachusetts.
