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'Making a difference is exciting': AMNews interviews Donald J. Kurth, MD

He's conquered drug addiction, fought colon cancer and been elected mayor, but Dr. Kurth says his life is just taking off.

By Beth Wilson, amednews correspondent — Posted Sept. 17, 2007

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For Donald J. Kurth, MD, life is anything but dull. As a young man, he flunked out of college twice, got addicted to speedballs (heroin mixed with cocaine) and was arrested more than once.

When he completed court-ordered rehab, he waged a comeback. Dr. Kurth got accepted to and graduated from Columbia University in premed with honors, earned his MD in 1979 and embarked on a career as an emergency physician. He became owner of an urgent care center in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

It all seemed poised for a storybook ending -- almost.

Dr. Kurth was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1994 and underwent a year of chemotherapy and surgery. With the illness in remission, Dr. Kurth became an associate professor and chief of addiction medicine at the Loma Linda University Behavioral Medicine Center. He recently married his longtime girlfriend.

Time to settle down? Not for this 58-year-old. After being appointed to the Rancho Cucamonga City Council in 2002, he waged an unsuccessful campaign to retain the position in 2004. Not one to be deterred by a disappointment, Dr. Kurth then ran for mayor in 2006. In an unexpected victory, he narrowly defeated the incumbent. He also plans to receive his MBA in health administration from Loma Linda University later this year.

"I'm at an age where some people are retiring, but my life is just taking off," he said. "I love what I'm doing. It's exciting."

Dr. Kurth recently spoke with AMNews about his past, his political involvement and how he finds balance amid all his responsibilities.

AMNews: As a young man you struggled with drugs. How did you turn your life around to become a physician? What gave you the strength?

Dr. Kurth: I was fortunate to get into treatment at a young age, 20. No one's too old, but I was able to get my life back together. A lot of people have a lot of potential, and it's up to us as society to give people those opportunities. I've also learned to rely on God to help me through some of the challenges I've been through.

AMNews: How did the experience change you? Did it make you more empathetic to others?

Dr. Kurth: It's given me a compassion and the vision to see the whole in people and to see the potential in people.

Also, I don't give up easily. No matter how bleak things look, you only lose if you give up. You might get a boot in the teeth, but you dust yourself off and get back in the game. Many of us have had a difficult path. That's the kind of physicians you want. You don't want them to give up.

AMNews: How did you get involved in politics?

Dr. Kurth: When I got into Columbia, I was overwhelmed with gratitude and I thought if there's anything I can do to pay Columbia back, I'll do it. My junior year, I ran for university senator. I had never run for anything. Some people ask, 'Why would you want to sit in meetings all day?' But making a difference, that's what's exciting.

Then in 1985, the president of the Rancho Cucamonga chamber of commerce called and asked if I would run for the board. I owned my own business, an urgent care center, and said I'm happy to participate. The next thing you know, I'm serving on the government relations committee and then elected president.

After that, I ran for city council and lost, and some people asked, 'Why don't you run for the Water District?' I didn't know what it was, but in California, water is a big, big deal. I served for eight years, and I learned a lot about water and California economics. Then there were two vacancies on the council, and I was appointed to one seat. [Staying] on the council looked like another challenge, and I ran and lost by a narrow margin. Then I came back and ran for mayor and won.

AMNews: What made a difference in the mayoral election?

Dr. Kurth: I'm not afraid to lose. I don't like to lose, but I'm not afraid to lose. I've faced difficult times in my life. No one was willing to run against [the incumbent]. It's hard to campaign. You try and raise money, but end up spending a lot of your own. It's a lot of time, but you want to contribute, you want to help. I think a lot of doctors are like that.

AMNews: How does medicine affect your approach to public office?

Dr. Kurth: My hero is Rudolf Virchow, a German pathologist and legislator. He said that politics is nothing but medicine written on a larger scale. Our job is to help people on a one-to-one basis, but a lot of the biggest problems we have as a society have to be addressed on a larger scale.

In the 1800s, Germany didn't protect clean water from sewage water. Disease was rampant. It was a political solution. It's no different today with public health issues. Addiction treatment and alcoholism treatment need to be addressed on a public health level. We either criminalize it or try to deal with it in the private sector.

Also, I am always looking for an evidentiary basis for my decisions. In that way, I often differ from my peers. I do a lot a reading. I'll take the time to do the research. Physicians are used to doing research to find the answers. I don't know everything about medicine, but I know where to find it.

AMNews: If you had to choose, what's your preferred profession?

Dr. Kurth: I'm a physician. I do the political stuff in my spare time.

AMNews: Do you recommend other doctors take on public office?

Dr. Kurth: If they have the inclination, they should be involved in community. Doctors tend to be very bright and hard-working, or we wouldn't have gotten through everything at medical school. There's a leadership void. If it's not filled with someone bright and hard-working who's ethical, it will be filled by someone else.

Don't we want to be at the table? I think we do.

AMNews: How do you achieve balance in your life? How do you find time for a personal life?

Dr. Kurth: I'm lucky in that my wife has her own interests. She runs a nonprofit center. We value the time we get to spend with each other. I try not to waste time. Necessity is the mother of invention. I rarely feel pressure. I usually feel like I'm having fun ... learning all these new things.

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Donald J. Kurth, MD

Age: 58

Family: Married to Dee Matreyek, PhD, who runs the nonprofit Restorative Justice Center

Hometown: Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

Medical experience: Director of emergency medicine at Serra Memorial Hospital (1981-85) and staff emergency physician at Queen of the Valley Hospital (1982-88), both in Los Angeles; physician and owner of Alta Loma Medical Group and Urgent Care Center in Rancho Cucamonga (1984-present); chief of addiction medicine at Loma Linda (Calif.) University Behavioral Medicine Center (1997-present)

Education: BA from Columbia University, New York (1975); MD from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (1979); currently seeking an MBA at Loma Linda University

Hobbies: Sold Palm Mountain Nursery but still grows palm trees for fun.

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