Kay Shapiro, a native of Pine Bluff, trusted Jefferson Regional Medical Center (JRMC) through the birth of all three of her children. She had confidence in JRMC’s emergency room when each of them had broken bones growing up, and she came to JRMC when she had open-heart surgery in 1998.
After her surgery, Kay spent many years receiving care at JRMC. When her cardiologist retired, she began searching for a new physician. “I tried a couple of cardiologists in Little Rock, but it seemed like they came to town, and then they were gone, and they just passed you on to the next doctor,” she said. Then she found Ricki Fram, M.D. of JRMC Cardiology Associates of South Arkansas.
In Kay’s description of Dr. Fram, it becomes clear that she has found a physician and a friend. “She’s just very easy to talk to,” Kay said, after explaining fondly that Dr. Fram came to UAMS from Houston and has practiced at JRMC for several years. “I would definitely recommend her to someone seeking a cardiologist. ‘Cause I feel like you’ll enjoy her as much as I did. As a person as well as a doctor.”
As a senior adult, Kay was anxious about having a doctor who would run unnecessary tests and put her on medication she wouldn’t be able to tolerate. “I needed someone who understood that pills don’t always set with me real well,” Kay explained. “Someone considerate who wasn’t forcing medicine on me or a lot of tests.”
Kay wanted an accessible physician who she knew would be there for her in a time of crisis. Now, Kay said Dr. Fram, or her nurse, always return her calls, and she speaks with them directly. “She was very accessible,” she said. “And that was very nice to know for a doctor in this day and age.”
Kay recommends Dr. Fram to others on a note of equal humor and seriousness. “You want listening out of your children, and you want listening out of a cardiologist,” she said, laughing. “You don’t want someone that’s just sitting there and writing real quick to get rid of you. I don’t feel like she’s that type of person.”
Most importantly, Kay said she knows Dr. Fram will be there for her. “I think she’s concerned, and you’ll feel good about the time she spends with you,” she said. “I talked to someone the other day that has a doctor, and she said her doctor stood in the doorway and talked to her. Didn’t come in, didn’t touch her, didn’t listen to her heart. Just stood in the doorway. Dr. Fram wouldn’t be a ‘stand-in-the-doorway’ person at all.”
“I think whoever goes to her will feel like I do: confident,” Kay said.
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