We Found the Right Physician: Charles Zelnick, MD

When Aboriginal people first meet, they want to know "what country" the other comes from. Although born in Chicago, Charles Zelnick, MD, came to Island Family Medicine from Western Australia, and joined the practice on January 3 of this year.

Dr. Zelnick, and his wife Vicki, met at Rice University. Following graduation, they married in Guilford, Maine—where Vicki spent her childhood summers—and honeymooned in Bar Harbor. Dr. Zelnick then attended medical school at the University of Cincinnati where he found himself assigned a family expecting a baby, an experience that became his initial contact into the medical system. Subsequent work with a country doctor led him to an interest in rural family medicine. He then joined a practice in Quincy, Washington, followed by 14 years of service at a medical teaching position in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In 2004, he took a sabbatical in Winton, New Zealand.

The year before Dr. Zelnick arrived at Island Family Medicine, he split his time between Aboriginal Health services and teaching fifth-year medical students at the University of Western Australia. "I am happy to return to the U.S. and again be a full-time rural family physician, "says Dr. Zelnick, "and Vicki and I will enjoy swimming, sailing, and hiking around beautiful Stonington and Deer Isle." Vicki agrees. "We feel privileged to be able to live on the Maine coast."

If you would like to make an appointment with Dr. Zelnick, please call Island Family Medicine at 367-2311.