Dr John-Paul (JP) Schwartz and his wife Emma Hughes have been in Ruapehu since last November. Photo / Supplied
Dr John-Paul (JP) Schwartz and his wife Emma Hughes have been in Ruapehu since last November. Photo / Supplied
John-Paul “JP” Schwartz is a long way from home.
The Texas man has moved to Ruapehu to fill the long-vacant role of GP for Waimarino.
He spent the majority of his career in his home state, first in Fort Worth and then in the Chihuahuan Desert near the Mexican border- but things changed when he met his wife, Emma Hughes, who is from England.
The couple moved to the UK, before Schwartz returned to his homeland to undertake locum work and sort out his possessions in storage.
Because of the outbreak of Covid-19, Hughes wasn’t able to rejoin him.
“That’s when the New Zealand job came up,” he said.
Schwartz may have inadvertently triggered a wave of Texan doctors making their way to New Zealand during his application process with this country’s health board.
“There were multiple single-doctor clinics scattered out over a wide area, who I put down as references,” he said.
“One by one they were interviewed, and one by one, they were also offered jobs in New Zealand.
“Within a few months, I found out pretty much all the doctors from the region I was practising in were in the process of moving here.”
He said medical professionals in Texas had become burned out over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, in a state that was “very un-doctor friendly”.
He will be at Ruapehu Health, which is a subsidiary of the Whanganui Regional Health Network, for at least a year.
“I’ve been really impressed with the amount of backup support we have here.
“That’s from counsellors through to the programmes available for dietary management. I had none of that out in the desert.
“If I was treating a diabetic patient I would have to counsel them and explain how to prepare food, how to do everything, and now I can refer it to different people in my clinic here in Raetihi.”
People had the idea that they “must see a doctor”, which was understandable, but the ancillary providers in Waimarino were also really good, Schwartz said.
Ruapehu Health service manager Tracy Mitchell agreed.
“The ‘old way’ is rapidly changing in primary healthcare, and in actual fact, your healthcare might come from someone else on the wellness team,” she said.
“We have a practice nurse, a long-term condition nurse, counsellors, a quit smoking practitioner and health improvement practitioners, which is a role specialising in mental health.
“It’s quite a big team.”
JP Schwartz arrived in Raetihi after a series of locums had filled the doctor's role. Photo / Bevan Conley
Mitchell said while the clinic had heavily relied on locums to fill the doctor’s role, Schwartz’s predecessor, Ian Haig, had been “almost permanent” in Waimarino.
“It wasn’t as if there was a new doctor every five minutes so we at least had a bit of continuity.
“It’s great having JP on the floor for at least a year, though.”
Ruapehu Health was X-ray capable but patients requiring ultrasounds needed to travel to Whanganui, Mitchell said.
That service was provided by Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand.
Schwartz said his predecessor had a mobile ultrasound machine.
“He took his toy with him when he left. I’ve considered buying one myself but they about are the price of a small boat.
“If I could take it out on the weekend and ski with it, it might be worth it. That’s probably not going to happen.”
Having access to properly priced prescription drugs was another major difference in New Zealand compared with the US, he said.
Bills would run into the hundreds and thousands back home.
“One inhaler would be US$300-$400 ($480-$640). Here, the exact same prescription is at the most, NZ$15 to $20.
“New Zealand has been smart to control the price, which is entirely legal, and it doesn’t stop the development of new prescriptions.
“That was always the mantra in the States - you had to charge high prices because they paid for research and development. It really didn’t. It was a way to line corporate profits.”
Schwartz said New Zealand’s Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) service was one thing he had to get his head around when he arrived.
The closest American equivalent was workman’s compensation insurance, which was a private policy bought by a company.
“If an employee gets injured, they have to get an attorney or several attorneys, and a doctor and file a suit against the company because the company won’t cover their care except the most basic.
“As regular doctors, we just had to give up on it because no matter what we did, they [companies] would dispute our claims and we didn’t have the wherewithal to hire two or three full-time attorneys to our staff just to cover care.
“It’s pretty absurd. You have to sue three people just to get your leg fixed.”
There had been multiple job opportunities in New Zealand but Raetihi seemed to be the best fit, and its need was great, he said.
“I have been able to buy hot sauce here too, and better Mexican food products than I was able to in the UK.
“We even found a jar of chili verde, which is green tomatillos in jalapeno pepper sauce. Honestly, I hadn’t found that in some of the stores in Texas.
“Tortilla chips are better here, for sure. They aren’t just crumby Doritos.”
