Neurologist Steven Sherman retiring after three decades of practice in Adrian
ADRIAN — On Friday, Dr. Steven Sherman will hang up his medical coat for the final time.
Sherman, a board-certified neurologist who is retiring, said he started practicing in 1987 and began part-time work in Adrian in 1988. He moved exclusively to full-time work in 1990 and since then has been caring for patients for 33 years. He has been in the same building virtually the entire time, too.
The Adrian Clinic of Neurology is at 777 Kimole Lane, Suite 210, in Adrian. Because this is Sherman’s final week in the office, he is not seeing any patients; the last of which he consulted with Sept. 19.
“I couldn’t even begin to guess the number of patients I have seen over the years,” Sherman said.
He referred to each of his patients as memorable aspects of his career in the medical field, saying doctors who care for people daily “have to be on their toes the entire time.”
“You really can’t go in (to this line of work) and be half attentive,” he said.
Sherman specializes in neurology, psychiatry and clinical neurophysiology. He is affiliated with ProMedica and was the first neurologist to attend to a patient when ProMedica Charles and Virginia Hickman Hospital opened in September 2020 in Adrian Township. Prior to then, Sherman was a consultant for both ProMedica Bixby Hospital in Adrian and ProMedica Herrick Hospital in Tecumseh.
He was also one of the original partners in the Grace Christman Medical Building, one of the remnants of Adrian’s Bixby Hospital.
Neurologists diagnose and treat disorders of the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, muscles and the involuntary nervous system that controls the heart, lungs and other organs. They treat headaches, stroke, dementia, seizures, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, sleep disorders and neuromuscular diseases.
Sherman called it a “demanding” process for medical professionals to keep up with the “immense” changes of the practice of neurology and keeping up with the computerization involved in medical care, none of which existed when he started practicing in the late 1980s. What was once conducted by notetaking has turned into using mostly everything electronic for compiling health records.
Technology has completely changed the medical landscape, most of it for the better, he said.
Sherman’s schooling began at the University of Colorado where he graduated in 1976. In 1980, he enrolled in the Medical College of Wisconsin and then took care of all his postgraduate training at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor. It was close to seven years of training, Sherman said, that started with his residency in internal medicine in 1980 and concluded in 1987 with a neurology residency.
His schooling worked out for the best, he said, as it brought him to Michigan, the state he has called home since 1980. At a more local level, Sherman praised Adrian for being a nice place to live and work.
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Even though he is retiring, that doesn’t mean he is spreading his wings and looking to move away. He is still planning to remain local with daughters residing in Flint and Kalamazoo. His wife, Anne, will continue her work as a nurse with Hospice of Lenawee.
“I don’t think I have shirked a bit in my career,” Sherman said, recognizing that at 69 it is simply that time in his life to move on toward retirement.
Born in Chicago and having grown up near the city, Sherman said he quickly realized that big city life didn’t appeal to him. Instead, he found enjoyment in the outdoors, fishing and hiking. He’ll be able to do quite a bit of those activities while retired, he said, along with reading books and spending time at local libraries.
When asked about some of the fondest memories of his career, Sherman responded by crediting the work of the nursing staffs he has worked with, as well as working alongside the fellow physicians who he described as “high caliber” and having a “high level of dedication” toward their work.
“Those are some of the things that have made my career so rewarding,” he said.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Adrian neurologist Dr. Steven Sherman to retire Sept. 29
