So trusted is he throughout the area that one Marshall County farmer asked him if he would take a look at his ailing cow.  And as paper records have given way to those kept electronically, Dr. Stephen Phillips has been a constant when it comes to providing healthcare the community can count on at Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center-Plymouth’s Family and Internal Medicine.
But after July 31, Dr. Phillips will accept a couple of new challenges – the difficulty of saying goodbye and the excitement of becoming a college teacher.
“Several years ago I began to sense that God had other plans for me beyond what he had called me to here in Plymouth as a doctor,” said Dr. Phillips. “The desire of my heart has become a desire to teach college students and to help them see how their faith impacts how they live in the real world.”
Two years ago, Dr. Phil-lips went back to school and in December 2008, he graduated with a Master’s Degree in Bioethics.  That resulted in Taylor University, located in Upland, Indiana, asking Dr. Phillips to help develop its Center for Ethics.
“This is a very exciting opportunity,” said Dr. Phil-lips.  “But pursuing this calling means that I will be leaving Plymouth Family and Internal Medicine. My wife, Rachael, and I will be leaving Plymouth.”
Certainly not an easy task for someone who has been such a trusted and involved member of the community for 28 years — from very expectant moms to, yes, even farmers with sick livestock.
“Yeah, that happened early on,” Dr. Phillips recalled.  “Though a bit flattered, I had to tell him that I just wasn’t the right doctor his cow needed to see.”
Dr. Phillips looks back on experiences like those with an appreciative grin. He built such an enormous trust between he and the community that his patients felt they could come to him with a very wide range of healthcare needs,
“It’s those long-lasting relationships with people and families that I will miss most,” said Dr. Phillips.  “I’m really going to miss those relationships with the people I treated and with the people that I worked.”
But new relationships await, as Dr. Phillips looks forward to sharing his experiences in the classroom at Taylor teaching Bioethics.
Technically speaking, Bioethics is the philosophical study of the ethical controversies brought about by advances in biology and medicine. Bioethicists are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, philosophy, and theology.
But as Dr. Phillips puts it:
“What I will be doing is helping students take what they believe and match it up with the real world and how they would like to live,” he explained.  “Because I have that real world experience having been a doctor and dealing with people and helping those people get through, sometimes, very difficult situations, I think I can add something from that experience.  My experiences here in Plymouth will definitely help both teaching and learning.”
Dr. Phillips last day at Plymouth Family and Internal Medicine is July 31.  He will begin teaching at Taylor beginning the 2009 Fall Semester, part-time at first, while continuing to practice medicine on a part-time basis near the university.  And his wife plans to continue writing her column for The Pilot News.
“That way, those of you who have enjoyed her unique look at our lives will still be connected to us in that way,” he said.
The public is invited celebrate Dr. Phillips’ remarkable career and wish him all the best, as an open house will be held at Plymouth Family and Internal Medicine on Wednesday, June 10, from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM.  This will also be a great chance to meet and greet the practice’s newest physicians, Dr. Joe Binfet and Dr. T. Aaron Zeller.
“Leaving all the patients, friends, co-workers, and the church we have been a part of for nearly 28 years will be difficult,” said Dr. Phillips.  “But I know my patients will be in great hands with Dr. Binfet and Dr. Zeller.  It is exciting to see two excellent young physicians come to add to the faith-centered care provided to our community by Plymouth Family and Internal Medicine and SJRMC/Plymouth.”
“Thank you all, very much,” Dr. Phillips added.  “We have loved every minute of being here and we are very excited about this new adventure.”