FORT BENNING, GA – Did you know there is a Hollywood star working among us? Medical Director of the Family Medical Home Dr. John Faught was once featured on the ABC hit reality show “Super Nanny.”
“This lady had four little girls and they were sweet and just as cute as they could be, but they were wired for sound,” said the retired colonel. “Her husband was deployed a lot. She had difficulty managing these kids. And these little girls, they were completely off the chain. I loved them but you had to wrestle them to actually examine them.
“Here’s this British lady (professional nanny Jo Frost) who I’ve never met, never even seen her on TV. She shows up, introduces herself and just kind of sat in the corner initially,” continued Faught. “I’m interviewing the patient like I always do. Then she starts interrupting and asking me all kinds of questions about depression and anxiety … how I treat this and how I treat that.”
Faught admitted his brush with fame was an interesting experience. But he didn’t let the lure of Tinseltown go to his head.
“I didn’t realize it was on TV until a couple of my patients came and told me. I think she sent me the episode and I watched like all of ten seconds of it.”
Faught spent a couple of rotations here as a medical student and graduated from Martin Army Community Hospital’s Family Medicine Residency Program in 1998. He has made BMACH home, ever since he pcs’d from Korea in 2000.
“I’ve had patients who have been on my panel for well over 10 years. Not a lot of people in the military can say this” explained Faught. “So they know me very well, and I know them. We can communicate on a level that’s not very typical for providers who are just starting out or who just got here.”
The care and time Faught devotes to each and every one of his thousand patients is paid back ten-fold.
“I’ve had some kids I’ve seen so many times, they would just tell me everything … whether they are having problems at school,” shared Faught. “If you will just sit there and listen, they’ll talk to you. You just cannot be in a hurry with them. Because if you are, they aren’t going to say anything. It’s really true with adults too.”
Faught has noticed more kids who have autism and other developmental disorders since he started practicing 20 years ago. These complex cases and the aging population require more time. And that extra time spent sometimes comes at a cost.
“If we are behind, it’s because we are spending a little extra time. We get 20 minute appointments. We’re spending more than 20 minutes with somebody because they need that,” explained Faught. “I just want them to know we are not trying to be late or being careless with their time. And if they need that time, we’ll spend that time with them.”
Faught said the absolute best part of his day is seeing children.
“Most of the kids I take care of actually want to come to the doctor. They enjoy it because they have a great time here,” explained Faught. “It’s not just me, I’ve got some really good nurses who play with them, talk to them.
“We talk to kids like it’s their appointment, not their parents’. I don’t talk to parents about their kids until I’m finished talking to the kids.”
Faught’s rapport with his youngest patients elicits some hilarious revelations.
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