Dr. Steve Miller poses for a picture with his father, Dr. Lawrence Miller, at Dr. Lawrence Miller's 60th wedding anniversary.
For more than a half century, the name "Miller" has been associated with orthopedics in the Morgantown area.
Lawrance Miller, MD, was in private practice as an orthopedic surgeon in Morgantown from 1952 until he retired in 1987 and was a member of the Mon General Medical Staff. His son, Steven C. Miller, MD, followed in his father's footsteps and will be opening his own private practice in Morgantown in January 2007.
Lawrance Miller, MD, and Justus Pickett, MD (now deceased), were the only orthopedic physicians in the Morgantown area for a number of years. Along with Hugh Wiley, MD, they were founding members of the Orthopedic Department at West Virginia University where Dr. Pickett was the first chairman of the department.
"Dr. Pickett, Dr. Wiley and I ran the Orthopedic Department until they hired a full time staff," Lawrance said. Lawrance is an emeritus clinical professor of orthopedic medicine at the university.
Pickett, Wiley and Miller's private practice was located at 400 Drummond Street, where they watched the construction of the WVU Medical Center and were near the old Mon General Hospital. Originally called the Orthopedic Clinic, the practice was renamed Morgantown Orthopedics Associates.
"While I was with the Morgantown Orthopedics Associates, the practice grew to seven full time American Board of Orthopedics certified physicians," he said. The practice is still in existence today at 200 Orthopedic Way on the Mon General Hospital campus.
Lawrance retired at the age of 65, but his son, Steven, is carrying on the family tradition.
Steven grew up in Morgantown and received his undergraduate and medical degrees from West Virginia University, graduating in 1976. He did two years of his Orthopedic Residency at WVU under Robert Clark, MD, and then followed Dr. Clark to Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, where he finished his final two years of residency in 1981.
Steven was in private practice in Pittsburgh, PA, at Allegheny General Hospital from 1981-87, and then was in private practice in Wheeling, WV, for the last 20 years.
"I decided to come back to Morgantown a year ago," Steven said. "I recently decided to start my own practice here in general orthopedics."
Steven's office is located at 1195 Pineview Dr. in Morgantown and he is also a member of the Mon General Hospital medical staff. "I've been in practice more than 29 years," he said, noting that his interests have changed. "In my new practice I will mainly do evaluations and consultations and concentrate on outpatient surgeries. It will be a general orthopedic office practice."
"Since returning to Morgantown, a lot of people I've met still ask about my dad and what he is doing." Steven said. "Many patients I've run across have told me stories about my Dad. It's very heartwarming. A lot of people still have fond memories of my Dad. It makes me very proud to follow in his footsteps. I'm trying to measure up to his standards and accomplishments."
Lawrance is still active, living six months a year at the Kingwood Country Club in Preston County, and spending six months, including the winter, at his second home in Sarasota, FL.
Both of his homes are on golf courses. "I don't play golf as much as I used to, but I still like to golf," Lawrance said. His other hobbies include trout fishing and woodworking. "My woodworking is primarily furniture and I belong to the West Coast Carvers Guild in Florida where we do a lot of different things."
Even though he is enjoying the retired lifestyle, Lawrance said his days as a physician in Morgantown "seem like yesterday."
"The most rewarding work I've ever done was taking care of crippled children," Lawrance said. In the 1950s, he and Dr. Pickett cared for crippled children in a five county area, the result of polio epidemics.
"Hundreds of kids would come in on school buses and we did it for free. I spent several summers doing nothing but crippled children work," he said, noting that most of this work took place in the summer because that was when the children were out of school.
They also saw a lot of patients as a result of coal mine accidents. That was before helicopters and trauma centers.
"At one time, half the patients in Mon General would be our patients," he said. In the early 1950s, Lawrance recalled that Mon General only had one administrator, one radiologist, and one x-ray tech.
"I've always been impressed with Mon General. I worked at 11 different hospitals and Mon General has always been one of the best."
Steven Miller, MD, is currently putting together his office staff. When his new office opens in January, he can be reached by calling (304) 599-5599.
Article written by Bill Sherwin
Mon Health Systems Community Coordinator
November, 2006