Becoming a long-term partner in patients’ health is what Dr. Brad Kelly cherishes about his medical specialty.
Board-certified in family medicine, Dr. Kelly joined Beaufort Memorial May River Primary Care this fall after practicing for four years at Beaufort Memorial Harrison Peeples Health Care Center. He traces his decision to enter family medicine to his undergraduate days at the University of Kentucky, where he worked as a nursing care technician in the emergency department at the university hospital. The work was rewarding, but Dr. Kelly rarely learned how his patients fared after he helped care for them. That left him wanting more.
“I knew that in primary care, I’d be able to form meaningful, long-term relationships with my patients and their families and be an ongoing contributor to their health and wellness,” he says. “The satisfaction I get from having patients refer their family members and loved ones to me is indescribable.”
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Dr. Kelly regards caring for multiple generations of the same family as a privilege that only family medicine can offer. He treats a wide variety of acute and chronic conditions, but his special interests include diabetes, tobacco use, high blood pressure and heart failure.
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Feeling Right at Home
Dr. Kelly and his wife of nine years, Elizabeth, had never lived in Bluffton before relocating there this fall with their beloved cat, Barney, but the move felt like a homecoming, especially for Dr. Kelly. Maybe that’s due to the many vacations the Kentucky native’s family took to the Lowcountry when he was younger, or the fact that he proposed to Elizabeth on a beach in the region. Calling the coast home allows the couple to indulge in hobbies old and new.
“We love spending time on the beach, which has helped us collect more than 5,000 shark teeth,” Dr. Kelly says. “Recently, we took up bicycling and look forward to exploring the bike paths in and around Bluffton.”
Dr. Kelly and Elizabeth share a passion for ’90s music, which has led them to attend nearly 100 concerts — Dr. Kelly would like to make it to at least 200 more — and amass an impressive collection of memorabilia. When they have some free time at home, they like to engage in friendly competition.
“Elizabeth and I enjoy playing vintage video games together,” Dr. Kelly says. “Ironically, she always beats me at Dr. Mario.”
Take the first step toward achieving your health and wellness goals by scheduling an appointment with a Beaufort Memorial primary care provider.
