Letter to the editor: Cam Bopp, MD, one of our best and brightest

Cam Bopp embodied the highest and best characteristics of our profession. Perhaps it’s strange to say, he was in many ways the doctor I always wanted to be and thanks to his example, tried to be.

All of us who had the privilege of knowing or working with him knew what a big picture thinker he was. He not only took care of the person in front of him with intelligence, science, and compassion, but he always thought about the bigger context, the big ‘whys’ and ‘how’s of public health, asking the questions whose answers move us forward to make the system smarter and better.

Hence his innovative work starting the Healthy Community Coalition, his work with Hospice, his public health master’s degree, and his endlessly innovative work in and out of the hospital. For many years, when he was active as a hospital staff member, Cam was the one who asked the best questions and moved us forward.

I was blessed with the chance to partake of this first hand when Cam worked in our office to fill in for Jeff Fuson when Jeff had his stroke. He not only took excellent care of our patients, but he naturally swung into the rhythms of our office in a way that soothed the jangled nerves of then overworked, stressed staff. Working next to him daily I learned to enjoy the “why didn’t I think of that” ideas that came out of him daily. When his time with us was up I leaned on him to stay but clearly Cam was restless for the bigger stuff of Doctors Without Borders and international public health.

Cam, of course, eventually came back to serve Franklin County. My last conversation with him several weeks ago was about the opiate treatment program he was getting off the ground in northern Franklin County.

Classic Cam.

We are occasionally lucky enough to work with people who inspire and bring out the best in us. Cam practiced medicine as the higher calling medicine is meant to be, right to the end of his short days.

We all will miss his bright light.

Steve Bien, MD
Farmington