ER Physician, War Memorial Hospital; Staff ER Physician, Potomac Valley Hospital; and Deputy Health Officer, Berkeley-Morgan County Board of Health
By Amanda Larch
When one door closes, another one opens—this is something Kevin McLaughlin, D.O., has experienced firsthand. Feeling discouraged after closing his surgical practice in 2004, McLaughlin, now an emergency room (ER) physician at War Memorial Hospital, accepted a Sunday ER shift at the Berkeley Springs hospital. From there, he was offered more shifts, and in 2006, it became a full-time position in a community he loves.
“Being an ER physician at War Memorial has been a great opportunity for me,” says McLaughlin. “I’m a very social being, and the ability to interact with so many different people from the local community has been very helpful. I also think people like being treated by someone that’s part of the community.”
While McLaughlin loves his job, he also acknowledges the challenges that come with working in a small ER.
“You are the show,” he says. “There is no other physician in the hospital for much of the time. I need to be able to adapt from suturing a laceration to a cardiac arrest to a fracture quickly.”
McLaughlin earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from Saint Francis University and his Doctor of Osteopathy from the University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine. After completing an internship with the Crozer-Chester Medical System and a general surgery residency at Memorial Hospital of York, McLaughlin and his family moved to Berkeley Springs.
His journey to becoming a general surgeon was not an easy one. Inspired by an orthopaedic surgeon he saw as a child, Dr. Schwartz, McLaughlin knew he wanted to be like Schwartz—but he needed a little push during undergrad to take school more seriously. When he made it to medical school, McLaughlin had another mentor whose advice he still heeds.
“The director of my surgical residency, Dr. Phillip Scott, really pushed me to focus on the fine details,” he says. “This instilled the need to be focused and detailed about every patient. I remember him once saying, ‘The easiest thing you’ll do after residency will be to operate and the hardest will be to not operate. The hard part will be figuring out which option is right for your patient.’ I’ve strived to keep that in mind for every patient I’ve seen since.”
McLaughlin passes on that spirt of mentorship, as each year at War Memorial, a third-year medical student completes rotations in the ER department under his guidance. He also teaches advanced cardiac life support to nurses, doctors and medical students.
“There are many people in the medical profession much smarter and more dexterous than myself, but I think I have the ability to communicate to patients at all levels what is going on and what needs to be done,” says McLaughlin. “If I can get the students to understand that, it will help them long after they leave the rotation in our ER. The art of teaching, educating and empowering is motivation for me. It’s great seeing students implement what they’ve learned into practical care.”
McLaughlin also dedicates his time as the deputy health officer for the Berkeley-Morgan County Board of Health. Between his positions, McLaughlin has witnessed firsthand many of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, but, in the same vein, has been able to do what he can to fight it. Early in the pandemic, after losing a friend’s mother to COVID-19, McLaughlin began doing everything in his power to educate his community.
“With her memory clear in my mind, I have been an advocate of masking, physical distancing and hand hygiene,” he says. “From social media to being on the radio for interviews, I try and be straight forward about what I know and understand about the virus. As an ER physician, I see the clinical side of the virus. I see the public health side from the messaging that goes out to the public from the state to the struggles of testing and all of its intricacies to the planning for the vaccine roll out.”
While McLaughlin’s responsibilities have changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, his commitment to his community and helping others has not wavered.
“COVID-19 has added another layer to the whole situation,” says McLaughlin. “From leadership zoom meetings to swabbing part time for the drive through clinics that were required to being a person the staff could call and try and get answers from the state leadership at the health department, I try to be the person who helps out wherever needed.”
