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| Volume No. 1 Issue No. 33 - Wednesday, December 11, 2002 |
 Dr Douglas: In New York's Medical Heirachy
 by: Dr Emanuel Finn
D r. Montgomery Douglas is the last son of the late Robert Bernard Douglas (RDB) and Bernadette Douglas. In April 2002, he was promoted to the position of Chairman of the Family Practice Department at St. Vincents Catholic Medical Centers (SVCMCs) of Brooklyn and Queens.
Douglas has been with SVCMCs for thirteen years. The first five (5) years were spent as the associate residency program director. The next six (6) years he served in the capacity of assistant residency program director for the Family Practice Residency-Training Program. He was the acting chairman of the department from June 2000 to April 2002.
As head of the Family Practice Department, he supervises eighty five medical doctors and is in charge of twelve (12) clinics as well as the Family Practice departments and Family Practice Residency Training Programs at four hospitals in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens.
The four hospitals that comprise SVCMCs are Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica, Queens, St. Johns in Elmhurst, Queens. St. Joseph in Flushing, Queens and St. Marys hospital in Brooklyn.
Douglas welcomes the opportunity to serve as a custodian of healthcare to the community as an administrator and clinician. He feels his new and highly visible appointment is a great opportunity to start some new projects and to continue with some exciting ones, which he started the last eight years. He is confident that the results of his efforts, hard work and dedication will improve health services to the communities which are served by the SVCMCs.
In 1997, Douglas was named New York State Family Practice Educator for the year by the New York State Academy of Family Physicians. He presents at numerous medical lectures and seminars throughout the United States and is a contributing writer of the (JFP) Journal of Family Practice.
Monty hails from the northern town of Portsmouth where the familys political and economic base is deeply anchored. He attended Portsmouth Secondary and Dominica Grammar Schools and the Sixth Form College. He holds Bachelors degrees in Chemistry and Biology from the University of Hartford and a medical degree from Cornell University Medical School.
Monty credits his wife Pearl for her love, support, encouragement and partnership. Mrs. Douglas hails from the northern community of Thibaud and is the daughter of Roslyn and Rogers Connoville. She attended Convent High School and Sixth Form College. She is a certified Public Accountant and is a graduate of Bernard Baruch College. Monty and Pearl reside in New York City with their children, Jamila and Omari.
The sincere, hard working and deeply spiritual medical doctor said that his dad, RBD, and older diseased brothers Mike (former leader of the political opposition) and Prime Minister Rosie Douglas greatly influenced him during his formidable years Their views of leadership, hard work, visionary aspirations, patience and sense of confidence and direction have helped me immensely. He also said that he is fortunate to be a member of a family that has left and is leaving its mark on our society in various ways.
Monty emotionally remembers and talked about his beloved mother who recently passed away as a strong, loving and caring mother. She was the glue that held the entire family together. She encouraged all her sixteen children to keep their faith in god and strive to be the best they can be. My mother always displayed love, affection, gentleness and understanding to all of us.
Douglas message to the youth is; Never let anybody discourage you from realizing your dreams and achieving your goals. With hard work, perseverance and patience you can be all what you want to be.
Does Monty plan to return to Portsmouth some day and get involve in politics? He says that while Portsmouth and the family estate at Hempstead will always be home, he prefers to make his contribution by helping to improve the health of Dominican citizens on the Island and in New York City.
He would like to start a medical clinic and convalescent hospital in Dominica, continue to send medical supplies and equipments home and lead medical missions to the island. In the future, he plans to launch a medical foundation to help in the development of healthcare in Dominica.
According to New Jersey resident Albert Philbert, a Dominica Grammar School and Sixth Form college classmate, I always knew that some day Monty would hit the big times. He was always brilliant and determined and he loved a feisty discussion and argument whether it was on politics, religion, mathematics or chemistry.
It was always a delight to be around Monty because one minute he was serious and the next he was giving jokes. This writer also enjoyed the jokes Monty gave during high school from the balcony of the Dominica Grammar School about the political disagreements among RBD, Mike and Rosie.
In 1979 Monty was the 1st runner up in the Northern District Carnival Calypso King competition in Portsmouth. As a sixth form college student in 1976, Monty placed 1st runner up in the National Junior Calypso Carnival King competition. The title of his song was Show me your motion.
The song asked the Premier Patrick Johns Labour party government to show the country the results of all what they had promised during the 1975 election campaign. The partys campaign manifesto described the twenty-one (21) labour party candidates as the Electrifying and Super team.
Ironically, his older brother Mike was minister of Communication and works and later of Agriculture, after he captured the Portsmouth constituency in 1975 as the Labour party candidate.
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