Source: Logan-Hocking Times
Recently, the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians (OAFP) was made aware that the office of David Cummin, MD, a member of the Academy for 28 years, received notice from Fairfield Medical Center that his family medicine practice would close in 90 days, leaving patients in a rural under-served community in a healthcare crisis. Fairfield Medical Center offered Dr. Cummin the option to practice in another community but doing so would mean abandoning his patients, an act he simply he cannot do.
“For over 28 years, I have provided primary care to patients in Logan, OH, building trusted, long-term relationships that are central to effective, ethical medical care. This offer would sever those bonds, interrupt continuity of care, and displace thousands of patients in a region already underserved by family medicine providers, Dr. Cummin shared.”
OAFP President Kathleen Meehan-de-la Cruz, MD, FAAFP, issued a statement on the situation which read, “Dr. Cummin is a dedicated family physician who has prioritized the complex needs of his patients and community for over 28 years. In 2024 alone, he provided care to over 7,500 patients—a testament to both the demand for and trust in his expertise. His patients consistently describe the care provided by Dr. Cummin and his team as comprehensive, compassionate, and grounded in long-term, trusted relationships. Generations of families across the Logan-Hocking region credit his care with keeping them well, guiding their healing, and managing chronic conditions with skill and empathy. This is especially critical in Ohio, where approximately 18.1% of the population—over 2 million residents—live in rural areas and already face significant barriers to accessing consistent healthcare. That’s why Fairfield Medical Center’s decision to eliminate Dr. Cummin’s family medicine practice is both alarming and difficult to understand. Instead of disrupting essential, continuous care, the health system should be investing in this cornerstone of primary care—one that provides the enduring, high-quality connection every community deserves.”
Read the article written by Avery Cook-Porter and Haylee Leasure, reporters at the Logan-Hocking Times, for Dr. Cummin’s full story and how he is pursuing other healthcare entities to take over his practice and continue taking care of his patients.
In 2024 Dr. Cummin and Stacey Sams saw a total of 1,860 patients combined! That is nowhere near the outlandish number of 7,500 being quoted. Additionally, while the employment of Dr. Cummin and Ms. Sams employment by FMC is coming to an end, they both have the ability to continuing practicing in the same current location as Dr. Cummin owns that space. They can do it independently as private practicing providers or they can seek employment by another entity. Moreover, all the support staff members were offered employment to transition to another FMC practice location or they can choose to stay with Dr. Cummin. It should also be noted that patients indeed have options. There are 3 other practice locations right in Logan all accepting new patients. They are the Hopewell Health Center, Stagecoach Family Medicine and Hocking Valley’s Rural Health Clinic.
Eliminating a family medicine practice in any community—especially in rural areas—is far more than a matter of cost reduction or service restructuring. It carries significant human and public health consequences. Family medicine practices are the cornerstone of preventive care, chronic disease management, and the long-term continuity that keeps communities healthy. In rural areas like Logan, Ohio, where healthcare resources are already limited, the closure of a practice such as Dr. Cummin’s creates immediate access barriers. Patients are left with the burden of re-establishing care with unfamiliar providers—whether they’re located across the street or 60 miles away. These disruptions are particularly harmful for those requiring consistent chronic care management or timely prescription refills. Continuity of care is not a convenience—it’s a necessity.
Practices like Dr. Cummin’s are more than clinical offices—they are deeply trusted pillars of the community. Over time, patients and families build lasting relationships with their care teams, founded on trust, cultural familiarity, and mutual understanding. These relationships are not easily replaced. Eliminating a primary care practice severs those essential bonds and destabilizes care, often worsening health outcomes, especially for vulnerable populations like older adults or those managing complex conditions. The loss felt is not only clinical—it is deeply personal and communal.
When a physician and their care team choose to stand by their patients through a closure, it is an act of profound respect and compassion. It reflects a commitment to both the emotional and physical well-being of those they serve—a final act of care that deserves recognition.
While the “Member of FMC” comment above states that “In 2024 Dr. Cummin and Stacey Sams saw a total of 1,860 patients combined!” … that number is likely the number of unique patients seen, not the total number of patient visits conducted. Since most patients are seen more than just once per year, the total impact of patient visits is much greater. The average physician will work at least 45 weeks per year (accounting for vacation and continuing education time away from the office). If working 5 days per week, for 45 weeks, seeing an average of 20 patients per day (a conservative number) that one provider would account for 4500 visit. Adding the visits for his nurse practitioner, the 7500 patient visits is a very believable number. Those would be 7500 visits that would have to be absorbed by other offices. Other offices “accepting new patients” does not mean they have the capacity to add 7500 patient visits to their existing practice. Fairfield Medical Center is doing a HUGH injustice to this community AND trying to minimize the impact by providing numbers that do not paint the full picture.
P.S. I am NOT related to Stacey Sams