Thursday, Aug. 7, 2008
Dr. Wayne Allgaier started his family medicine practice in a storefront on West Potomac Street on Aug. 5, 1974.
On Tuesday, exactly 34 years later, he threw in the stethoscope, retiring from the Brunswick Medical Center, the large Ninth Avenue operation he co-founded in 1981, which now has a staff of 49.
"I'm 65 years old," said Allgaier, who will continue in his role as a Brunswick City Council member. "I've got a lot of stuff I want to do, and when you're practicing medicine, it's hard to do all the other things you want to do in life."
Allgaier is deeply involved in the community, and he said that now that he is leaving the nine-to-five world Û or 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. for him, many days Û he will still be busy.
"I'm on the City Council. My wife and I are active in our church," he said. "We have six children all around the country and world, and 22 grandchildren and two more on the way. I'd like to get back to gardening again, I enjoy that. My main thing is just catching up on 34 years of stuff that's been undone. I just want to get my life organized again."
But he admits that there may be other fringe benefits of the post-work world.
"If I want to sleep in, I'll sleep in," Allgaier said, though he was quickly followed by his wife, Vicki, who clarified his statement: "Until 7 [a.m.]," she quipped, alluding to his habit of rising early. The couple also plans to travel more in his retirement.
Joanne Runkles, president of the Brunswick Medical Center's board of directors, has been involved in the medical center since day one. She said the void he will leave in his absence will be huge, but that she is hopeful for the future of the center, where Allgaier will still work a couple of days a month.
"We'll miss him here at the medical center, that's for sure," she said, "but we'll never replace him because he has so many good qualities. He's like a saint he's so involved in everything, and he's so caring about it. It'll be hard to find someone to replace him, but we'll be looking for that person."
At 4:15 p.m. Monday, some of his children and grandchildren surprised him by arriving at the center from Wales, and the rest of them arrived from a variety of locations over the following 24 hours to help him celebrate his career and life.
The Brunswick Medical Center is the premier medical center in its immediate area. Runkles said patients, who flock to the center from as far away as Howard County, can come 24 hours a day because there is always a doctor on call.
The office has 40,000 patients on record, she said, though many only visit once or twice a year for routine check-ups.
There will be an "open house" Friday evening from 6-8 p.m. at the center for anyone who has had a connection Û professional or personal Û to the paragon of the Brunswick community.
A "surprise" will be announced that night, Runkles said, and there will two brief presentations.
"[The center] started with Dr. Allgaier; Robert Moler, who was a pharmacist, and the late Paul Shaffer, who was a dentist. We built the center in 1981, and it's done nothing but grow and grow and grow," Runkles said. "We just want to thank him."
