FLOWOOD, Miss.—Who the hell wants to live in Mississippi?
When U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-NY asked that infamous question, he implied that it definitely wouldn’t be a fellow resident of New York City. But Dr. Kenneth Fox begs to differ. After but a few months in the Jackson area, the Big Apple transplant is thriving.
“People here are decidedly more friendly and polite,” said the physician for Methodist Spine & Joint Center in Flowood. “Having people I’ve never met wave to me in my apartment complex was a little taste of culture shock.”
Dr. Fox said several factors inspired him to close his two clinics in New York City and head south. “I wanted to devote my full energies to being a doctor and not running a business,” he said. “And I wanted to go to an area where there was a need for doctors who specialize in physical medicine and rehabilitation.”
Before coming to Mississippi, Dr. Fox considered positions all over the United States. “I even spoke to a practice in Alaska,” he said. But he said what set Methodist Spine & Joint Center apart is its affiliation with Methodist Rehabilitation Center in Jackson. “I was attracted to the idea of working for the only hospital in Mississippi to be named one of America’s best by U.S. World & News Report,” he said.
Methodist CEO Mark Adams said Fox’s extensive experience will be a great asset, particularly in the area of pain management. “We were looking for someone who could care for the aches and pains of a diverse patient population and Dr. Fox definitely fits the bill.”
Board certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation, Dr. Fox says he treats pain from head to toe. “My patient population varies from senior citizens with arthritis to amateur athletes with sports injuries.”
A graduate of Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa., Dr. Fox attended Columbia University’s pre-medical program before beginning his studies at New Jersey Medical School in Newark. After earning his medical degree in 1990, Fox completed a residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. He is a member of the American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine and is also certified as a physician acupuncturist.
Methodist Spine & Joint Center is housed on the same Flowood campus as Methodist Outpatient Rehabilitation and Methodist Orthotics and Prosthetics. And Dr. Fox says he likes that the setting fosters easy collaboration between professionals who specialize in conditions such as sports-related trauma, repetitive motion injuries and shoulder, neck, back and joint pain.
“I can be certain of the quality of therapy the patient is getting, communicate better with the staff and take advantage of a broader array of non-surgical treatment options,” he said. “It also ensures timelier evaluations and treatment, which just naturally promotes a more favorable outcome. The quicker you see the patient, the easier it is to produce a better result.”
Although Dr. Fox lives just down the street from his office, he has been taking his new car to work. After years of not owning a vehicle in New York City, he’s enjoying navigating traffic in a place where Southern niceties prevail. “I think I’ve only heard someone honk at someone else twice since I’ve been here,” he marvels.