A Closer Look

Benjamin I. Luce, D.O.

FAMILY PHYSICIAN

Hello and welcome! Who am I? You might hear Mr. Ben, Dr. Ben, Dr. Bro-skey, and Dr. Stretch from my pediatric patients. I am a Christian, a husband (my awesome wife, Lillie, and I in the picture), a family member, a doctor … and that doctor being a little different. Doctor comes from a Latin word meaning “teacher.” Thus, if I want to be a teacher, I also need to be an infinitely curious learner. My learning about our broken health care system points to the need for change. Why do we do the same things repetitively expecting different results? More to follow. 

I am the middle of 3 children born and raised in Forest Lake, PA. I graduated as valedictorian from Ross Corners Christian Academy and then graduated with high honors from Cedarville University with a B.S. in Biology, whereat I also met my wife. We moved southeast to Spartanburg, SC, where I discovered mountain biking and obtained my medical degree from Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine. Well wait, Dr. Ben, why an osteopathic medical school (DO) instead of an allopathic (MD) medical school? Because we need something different. I wanted a more holistic approach than what conventional medicine offered, and I knew my future patients would too. Very basically, osteopathic doctors not only receive the same medical training as allopathic doctors, but also receive an additional 400 hours of anatomy and its application to manual manipulation (using one’s hands to manipulate the body to aid in healing). This is called Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT). Gotcha. So, like a chiropracter? Only in that I use my hands to manipulate the body, otherwise the techniques and theory are different. 

Anyway, after medical school, I returned home and completed the family medicine residency program at UHS. Family medicine is a good foundation, OMT adds exponentially more to that foundation, but we need more of the “different” to make a difference. With that in mind during my residency, I completed the Integrated Structural Acupuncture course with roots in Japanese-style, Hara diagnosis acupuncture through the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. 

Thus, at this point, I have background training in conventional family medicine, manual medicine (OMT), and Japanese style acupuncture (an electromagnetic approach to treating the body. We can “geek-out” about it later). A different, more well-rounded doc is what I have aspired to for the sake of my future patients. I don’t believe we can expect significantly different results doing the same thing over and over.  Since a young lad in the hills of PA, I dreamt of caring for people. I’m a servant at heart. My short stint in commercial, “insurance-saturated medicine” was more than long enough for me to learn how commercial entities become commercial and why “insurance” companies … well, you understand where I am going. 

I could see that 10 minutes with a patient was not always appropriate, that patients left feeling rushed, and that the docs around me (myself included) burned out with all the demands that left the patient in the background. Is this the fulfillment of my dream to care for people? Or is it higher entity appeasement? Both? Neither? Other? You decide.

As a man of integrity who took an oath as a Christian physician before the world that I seek to do the greatest good, do no harm, care for mankind, love Jesus, and love my neighbor, I am compelled to use the skills into which I’ve invested a couple bucks and over a decade of my life … for YOU. I do this with God’s help and to the best of my ability. Welcome to the founding of TriPoint Medical. We’re here to be the difference. Our investment is for you.