Episode 82 · Dr. Join Luh · June 8, 2025
Dr. Join Luh talks with Scott Hammond about his path from San Diego, Hong Kong, Galveston, and Texas A&M into radiation oncology, and how he eventually made a long-term home practicing medicine in Humboldt. They get into the technology behind cancer treatment, what rural communities can and cannot offer medically, and how Humboldt’s health care landscape has changed from a well-resourced medical community into something more strained. It’s a conversation about medicine, place, patients, and the people working to keep high-level care available locally.
Watch the conversation
What this episode covers
- Dr. Join Luh’s early life in San Diego, Hong Kong, Chula Vista, and Galveston
- His education at Texas A&M and the route that led him into radiation oncology
- How radiation treatment is planned, shaped, and delivered with technologies like IMRT and linear accelerators
- Humboldt’s medical strengths, shortages, and the shift away from independent practices
- What it means to care for cancer patients across the full spectrum of local life
- The role of Providence, St. Joseph Hospital, philanthropy, and new equipment in keeping advanced care available locally
Listen to 100% Humboldt on
Apple Podcasts · Spotify · Amazon Music · Buzzsprout
Transcript
Read full transcript
Scott Hammond: Ladies and gentlemen, friends and neighbors, this is Scott Hammond with 100% Humboldt Podcast, and my new best friend, Dr.
Scott Hammond: Join Luh.
Dr. Join Luh: Hi.
Scott Hammond: Hey there.
Dr. Join Luh: How's it going?
Scott Hammond: It's going good. Hey, Join, tell us, tell us your story. What do you do?
Dr. Join Luh: I am a radiation oncologist.
Scott Hammond: Ah.
Dr. Join Luh: And I joke that I'm the guy you never wanna see professionally.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. B- better socially.
Dr. Join Luh: Correct.
Scott Hammond: And you're always a nice guy socially. I see you sometimes.
Dr. Join Luh: Well, thanks.
Scott Hammond: So tell us, tell us the Join, the Join story.
Dr. Join Luh: Well, if you wanna start from the beginning, I, I was born in San Diego.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: Uh, Sharp's Hospital-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … and spent, um, some, uh, some time, uh, y- in, um, not far from downtown San Diego in some of the, uh, the older apartment complexes there. And at six months, my mom took me to Hong Kong.
Scott Hammond: Oh, wow.
Dr. Join Luh: And I lived there for about three years.
Scott Hammond: How about that?
Dr. Join Luh: So Cantonese was actually my first language.
Scott Hammond: Is that right? Okay.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: You said you were born in Chula Vista, right?
Dr. Join Luh: Well, I, I-
Scott Hammond: You lived there?
Dr. Join Luh: When we came back-
Scott Hammond: Oh
Dr. Join Luh: … uh, we ended up buying a condo in Chula Vista.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: And so I was there till I, I was about six years old.
Scott Hammond: Okay. Any r- memories of Chula Vista?
Dr. Join Luh: Lots.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: Lots of, um, dirt bike rides-
Scott Hammond: Sure
Dr. Join Luh: … through canyons that were undeveloped-
Scott Hammond: That are now
Dr. Join Luh: … mountains that are now covered with condos and townhouses.
Scott Hammond: Crazy. Yeah, Eastlake is all gone.
Dr. Join Luh: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: So as we talked before, I, I grew up north of that in National City, California, in the '60s and '70s.
Dr. Join Luh: Nice.
Scott Hammond: And it was even more canyons and more dirt and more scrub and, and a fun place to go ride motorcycles, shoot guns, and camp out and-
Dr. Join Luh: Yes
Scott Hammond: … and do all the things that young guys like to do that we were crazy, and we'd camp out in the middle of nowhere in the back of Potter Valley and Indian, or what was it called? Deerhorn Valley.
Dr. Join Luh: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: And just not very safe.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah. The space was there.
Scott Hammond: The space was there, and the times were different, so. Uh, so after Chula Vista, where'd you wind up, uh, living?
Dr. Join Luh: Galveston, Texas.
Scott Hammond: Oh, sorry to hear that.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah. Well, it was, uh, it was an interesting time. We moved there in 1978. My mom and dad had just separated-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Dr. Join Luh: … so she was starting a new life as a single mom.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: And, uh, went to night school and trained to be a laboratory technician. So she worked at the University of Texas Medical Branch.
Scott Hammond: Okay. In Galveston?
Dr. Join Luh: In Galveston.
Scott Hammond: They, they wrote a song about Galveston.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes, Glen Campbell.
Scott Hammond: Glen Campbell.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Shout out to Glen.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes.
Scott Hammond: And C- Craig Lemaster, who was a good friend of ours that just passed locally, who
Scott Hammond: was a-
Dr. Join Luh: Mm
Scott Hammond: … huge Glen, I would even say fan. He played all his music, played with his daughter, Debbie, and her band and-
Dr. Join Luh: Right
Scott Hammond: … this guy was an aficionado.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: He used to work on cars for, uh, Chuck Norris and all the guys down in Redondo.
Dr. Join Luh: Wow.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: I bet.
Scott Hammond: Especially Ford Auto. Shout out to Craig.
Scott Hammond: Anyway.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: So Galveston, that's a different… There's hurricanes there and stuff, right?
Dr. Join Luh: Yes. Every summer, we had to get ready for hurricane season.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: And a lot of people don't know this, but, uh, f- our first year and a half to two years in Galveston were spent living in a trailer park. So I can actually say I'm trailer park trash.
Scott Hammond: That's okay.
Dr. Join Luh: Um, and it was actually a, a, a great place to be. It was a very tight-knit community. I got to know all the kids my age. We'd ride our dirt bikes all over the neighborhood. This was a trailer park that was right next to the Seawall Boulevard.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Dr. Join Luh: So it was walking distance to the beach.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: So after school or on weekends, I could just walk on over, you know, play in the water. It was, it was almost like being on be- beachfront property.
Scott Hammond: That's cool. So it's miles of beach, right? It's quite beautiful.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: Brown water, though, but it's, it's the Mississippi River, uh, delta
Dr. Join Luh: sediment.
Scott Hammond: Okay. Yeah, I think I remember seeing some v- some video on, um, some of the larger ships that would come in, and they would create wakes that people would surf on.
Dr. Join Luh: Right.
Scott Hammond: Uh, being an old wannabe surfer, that, that looked really fun. They would surf a wave for, like, a mile. And they would-
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … wouldn't be a big wave, but it would be consistent.
Dr. Join Luh: Right. Definitely not as big as what we get in California.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, and not as big as on, on the bar there. So, uh, went to high school there as well?
Dr. Join Luh: Yes. So I went from elementary school all the way through high school there and, um, and then after that went off to Texas A&M
Dr. Join Luh: University-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Dr. Join Luh: … for my undergrad. Uh, was there-
Scott Hammond: College Station?
Dr. Join Luh: College Station, Texas.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Dr. Join Luh: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: You're, you're an-
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … you're an Aggie.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes. I still proudly wear my Aggie ring.
Scott Hammond: Wow. I have respect for that 'cause I used to, uh, go to College Station-
Dr. Join Luh: Really?
Scott Hammond: … uh, for work.
Dr. Join Luh: Okay.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. We were the cable system there, and, uh, the, the headquarters was right there in College Station.
Dr. Join Luh: How about that? Wow.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, the Dixie-
Dr. Join Luh: I don't, I don't meet any people.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: Oh, you've been to the Dixie Chicken.
Scott Hammond: Dixie Chicken.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes.
Scott Hammond: Come on now. Come on, y'all.
Dr. Join Luh: That was the, um… Yeah, and right next door was Dudley's Draw. So it's funny that undergrads would all hang out at Dixie Chicken.
Scott Hammond: Uh-huh.
Dr. Join Luh: And all the grad students would go to, go to Dudley's Draw.
Dr. Join Luh: And-
Scott Hammond: That was, like, a bar?
Dr. Join Luh: Right.
Scott Hammond: Uh-huh.
Dr. Join Luh: It was a bar, and, and yeah, they, they served… I, I never had any fried chicken there.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: You were just there to drink beer.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Of course, yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: Right.
Scott Hammond: They have a burrito place that was, that was there that they had, um… It's also at UCSB at Santa Barbara. It, it had an F. It was called, um, oh, Really Good Burrito. It was across town. It was, like, as big as a newspaper, a Sunday paper.
Dr. Join Luh: Okay.
Scott Hammond: And they had a motorcycle on the wall. Do you… Is it ringing any bells?
Dr. Join Luh: I, uh-
Scott Hammond: It was called, um… Ah, it'll come to me.
Dr. Join Luh: Okay.
Scott Hammond: End of the show or after, I'll let-
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … I'll text you.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: But amazing. Really nice people. You know, as a Californian, um, they, they respect success, and I had some, and, and I was immediately adopted into the family and still have great friends there.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah. Yeah, I still keep in touch with some of the locals there. Uh, I got, uh, my mom made sure I was part of a, uh, church group, so they kind of looked, took me in and looked after me-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … 'cause I didn't have a car my fir- my freshman year. And, uh, it was, um, it was a, it was a neat place to s- spend my undergraduate years.
Scott Hammond: That's great. Yeah, no, great people I've, I'm so impressed with. And one of the, one of the, uh, pastimes that I remember for social hour, they would, after work, they would compare small towns. "Have you ever been to Conroe, Texas?" "Yeah, yeah."
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: "Have you been to Alexandria?" "I… Where's that?"
Dr. Join Luh: Uh-huh.
Scott Hammond: You got… Let me… And then the story would come, you know, 'cause there's a million little towns.
Dr. Join Luh: There are.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. And-
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah, there's an Alexandria, Louisiana.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: That's true.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And don't forget, don't mess with Texas.
Dr. Join Luh: That's right.
Scott Hammond: And I bet you've had a Whataburger.
Dr. Join Luh: Many, many times because they're open 24 hours.
Scott Hammond: Oh.
Dr. Join Luh: So it's a great place to go in the wee hours of the morning.
Scott Hammond: After, after we've had three beers.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes.
Scott Hammond: That's, uh, I love that. So you, you might be in a position to judge this. Whataburger or In-N-Out Burger?
Dr. Join Luh: Depends on what you're looking for. There's, you know, one thing I'll say about In-N-Out Burger is their, their fresh vegetables. It's like a crisp
Dr. Join Luh: burger.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: And, uh, it, it, it tastes great.
Dr. Join Luh: Whataburger, if you like the mustard flavor-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … and s- and, and more the pickly, uh, you know, aspect of the burger, then, uh, you can't go gong- wrong with a Whataburger.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: Um, and every- whenever I think of Whataburger, I, I think of 2:00 AM in the
Dr. Join Luh: morning-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Dr. Join Luh: … you know, being hungry, and just w- having the munchies.
Scott Hammond: And it's delicious 'cause you have-
Dr. Join Luh: It's delicious
Scott Hammond: … every bit of munchies that it tastes better.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. No, I think you're right. I think, I think, uh, In-N-Out does grill, uh, their buns in kinda some butter spread, so they have that more crispy and-
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … certainly the fresh ingredients.
Dr. Join Luh: Absolutely.
Scott Hammond: Remember my first one, it was in Camarillo, California, and I go, "This is a…" And we're just down there for a snack.
Dr. Join Luh: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: Afternoon. I go, "This, this is delicious, Bob. Where do… Oh, there's 10 of them now in LA."
Dr. Join Luh: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: And now there's, you know, a million every- They have them in Dallas, I think, too.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: They've come to Texas, so.
Dr. Join Luh: Right.
Scott Hammond: Anyway, so A&M, let's talk about A&M and, uh, what, is it Gig 'Em Aggies?
Dr. Join Luh: Gig 'Em Aggies.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Is it, that's, is it, is that the signal?
Dr. Join Luh: It's, it's, you know, and what's funny is that-
Scott Hammond: It's the shocker
Dr. Join Luh: … when people do that, um, you know, at, a, a few people that weren't familiar with the symbol-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … you know, especially hitchhikers, you know, would hi- try to hitchhike, and people would just say, "Gig 'em," and they'd just drive on by.
Scott Hammond: Wait, come back.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: So there's a whole, um, sort of calling Aggies a cult. There, there's a, there's a cult-like, uh, aspect to this school that is the tree-
Dr. Join Luh: Mm-hmm
Scott Hammond: … where you're supposed to l- supposed to get married under the, is it a, some old tree on campus?
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah. There's, well, there's one, one thing is at, uh, Albritton Tower, that's the big clock tower on campus.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: Uh, you're, you're s- you're s- you're supposed to kiss your girlfriend, uh, I guess, under the tower.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Dr. Join Luh: That, that was a tradition. I'm, I'm, I wasn't that familiar with the marriage thing, just because at that time it was, it just seemed so far away in my mind.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Less. I just wanna get a degree and get out of here.
Dr. Join Luh: Right.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. No, I really, uh, it, what a great little town. I, um, a lot of good memories and good guys that I worked with, and we ate a lot at a lot of different restaurants around there, and over in, in Bryan. And, um, uh, they have a, um, a Carnegie Library over there-
Dr. Join Luh: Mm-hmm
Scott Hammond: … as they do in many small towns in America.
Dr. Join Luh: Right.
Scott Hammond: We got to, uh, see that. But anyway, uh, enough said. So what'd you study at, at, uh, A&M?
Dr. Join Luh: I was a boring biology major.
Scott Hammond: Ah.
Dr. Join Luh: And with the, with the idea that I would apply to medical school-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … it was something, an interest I had since high school. A lot of it had to do with my mom working at the medical center-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … in, in my hometown, and so that kind of fostered my interest in medicine. And so, uh, with the biology major, um, you know, I had a side job as a laboratory technician. I washed, you know, test tubes and flasks-
Scott Hammond: Sure
Dr. Join Luh: … in a lab, and did, did, uh, some, some scut work there.
Scott Hammond: Uh-huh.
Dr. Join Luh: And, uh, actually pledged a fraternity while I was there too. It was called-
Scott Hammond: Oh, wow
Dr. Join Luh: … uh, Triangle, and it was a geeky fraternity for-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Dr. Join Luh: … architects, engineers, and scientists. So I, I, I fit right in.
Scott Hammond: I'm part of the geek fraternity.
Dr. Join Luh: Uh-huh.
Scott Hammond: It was-
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: That's cool. So, uh, how, how were your grades?
Dr. Join Luh: They were modest.
Scott Hammond: Uh-huh.
Dr. Join Luh: Freshman year was, was hard. Um, it was, it was a, it was an adjustment. In high school, I did very well because I got homework assignments.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Dr. Join Luh: So as long as I did my homework assignments, I'd do fine on the exams, and-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Dr. Join Luh: … you know, I'd, I'd, I'd do well academically. In college, especially in a large state university with 40,000 students on campus, you're, you're, uh, you're in the sea, and nobody's looking over your shoulder.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Dr. Join Luh: And you go to class, professor doesn't care whether you're there or not. They give you a reading assignment, nobody cares whether you do the reading assignment or not.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Dr. Join Luh: So I kind of dilly-dallied my, my first few months of my fall semester, and by the time it was, uh, you know, midterms came around, I was like, "Oh my God, I haven't even cr- cracked open a book."
Scott Hammond: Oh, I have to do this test.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. And these are halls of, like, 200 people, right, at a time?
Dr. Join Luh: Yes.
Scott Hammond: And especially-
Dr. Join Luh: Like, your introductory 101 courses
Scott Hammond: … general ed's gonna be all huge classes.
Dr. Join Luh: Right.
Scott Hammond: What a great tradition, though, and good sports tradition.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah, I, uh, uh, every one of us has the fight song memorized.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: I will never forget it for the rest of my life.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: You run into another Aggie, you guys can get together, and we c- we can sing it-
Scott Hammond: Ah
Dr. Join Luh: … uh, uh, word for word.
Scott Hammond: The mark of a good school cult.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes.
Scott Hammond: So did you go to Aggie football and basketball games?
Dr. Join Luh: Mostly the football games.
Scott Hammond: Those are great.
Dr. Join Luh: And we would stand up for all the football games.
Scott Hammond: Oh my God.
Dr. Join Luh: Nobody ever sat down.
Scott Hammond: Nobody sits.
Dr. Join Luh: Nobody sits.
Scott Hammond: So you could see the stadium from, Nick, from, like, miles away. It stands a- above the floor of-
Dr. Join Luh: Mm-hmm. Kyle Field.
Scott Hammond: Kyle Field.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And it's, um, it's right by the airport, in fact-
Dr. Join Luh: Yes
Scott Hammond: … when we fly in.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Interesting. Yeah, no, I, um, I'll get off of A&M. So after A&M, it, it tells me you went to University of Texas.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes. Uh, I, I actually had took a little hiatus. I f- I finished college, uh, uh, in three years. Most of it was because of the college credits that transferred from Galveston College-
Scott Hammond: Oh
Dr. Join Luh: … uh, that I, I took when I was in high school.
Scott Hammond: Nice.
Dr. Join Luh: Uh, I had, I had a great, uh, high school counselor that-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … uh, you know, talked about dual credit. If I took AP courses, I could get, uh, concurrent credit at the community college.
Scott Hammond: So smart.
Dr. Join Luh: By the time I graduated from high school, I had 52 credit hours.
Scott Hammond: Oh, shoot.
Dr. Join Luh: And so, uh-
Scott Hammond: That's a year of college right there.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah. And I, I could've graduated in two if I, if I studied a little bit harder, but-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … I, uh, managed to do it in three. So I took a… Uh, I didn't get into med school the first time, so what I did was I did a study abroad project in, uh, Taiwan.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Dr. Join Luh: And got a, got a grant from the Ministry of Education in Taiwan to study Mandarin and culture over there, so I spent-
Scott Hammond: Did you already speak the language?
Dr. Join Luh: I spoke Cantonese-
Scott Hammond: Cantonese
Dr. Join Luh: … which was… But I wasn't very fluent in Mandarin.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: So my inspiration to learn was I ran into This white guy who was actually a Fiji, uh, frat rat-
Scott Hammond: Huh
Dr. Join Luh: … who spoke and read Mandarin fluently.
Scott Hammond: Huh.
Dr. Join Luh: And I was so impressed. I was like, "If this guy can do it, I need to do this."
Scott Hammond: Was he at A&M, or was he over at-
Dr. Join Luh: He was at Texas A&M.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Fiji frat rat.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah. That could speak and read Mandarin Chinese.
Scott Hammond: What the-
Dr. Join Luh: And I was like, "You're better than me. I need to, I need to do this."
Scott Hammond: He could do it. I could do it.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. What one person can do, another can do.
Dr. Join Luh: Right.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. My favorite– One of my favorite movie's called the, uh, Anthony Hopkins and, uh, Alec Baldwin. It's… What is it called? I'll think of that too.
Dr. Join Luh: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: Yep, so a lot of brain explosions going on in my brain, but I'll come back to that.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: So you ended up going to San Antonio.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes.
Scott Hammond: For school.
Dr. Join Luh: So I ended up, uh, uh, you know, applying to medical school again.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: Took the MCAT again. Got smart, took Kaplan to help me prepare for the, uh, the
Dr. Join Luh: exam.
Scott Hammond: Nice.
Dr. Join Luh: Uh, and, uh, ended up, uh, being accepted to the University of Texas San Antonio.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: And so I spent four years there, and, um, uh, yeah, and it was a, it was a, again, another, uh, mind-opening experience because a- again, it was a… You're, you're called upon to learn a huge amount of information in a very short period of time-
Scott Hammond: Right
Dr. Join Luh: … like trying to drink out of a fire hydrant.
Scott Hammond: Oh, boy.
Dr. Join Luh: And so if you think of college being, uh, anywhere between 12 to 15 semester hours being a full course load, when you're in medical school, particularly during those first two years, that's equivalent to about 24 semester hours.
Scott Hammond: Phew.
Dr. Join Luh: So that's a lot of class, a lot of lectures, a lot of reading.
Scott Hammond: You're always grinding all-
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … seven days a week probably.
Dr. Join Luh: Right.
Scott Hammond: Wow. Did you think you– about oncology then? Or were you just internal medicine or…?
Dr. Join Luh: You know, that's a great question because when I was an undergrad thinking about becoming a doctor, I had no idea that there were so many specialties out there. My perception of a doctor was what I saw in my pediatrician, you know, somebody that-
Scott Hammond: Sure
Dr. Join Luh: … had their own private office-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … see patients on an outpatient basis. You know, once in a while, when I, when I had, uh, you know, an encounter, you know, a need for a surgical procedure, I might see somebody in the hospital.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Dr. Join Luh: But, uh, it was a very limited view. So it wasn't until they– I started going through the various rotations during a third year, um, where you're exposed to all the various specialties-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … that I started learning about, uh, the different ones that were out there. And even then, you don't get exposed to all of them.
Dr. Join Luh: Uh-
Scott Hammond: Right
Dr. Join Luh: … it, it's mostly, like, internal medicine, general surgery, family
Dr. Join Luh: practice-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … OBGYN, you know, those, those main ones.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: The other specialties like dermatology, radiology, pathology kind of fall into the
Dr. Join Luh: background.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Dr. Join Luh: And oncology was considered a su- subspecialty of internal medicine.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Dr. Join Luh: So you, you didn't necessarily get exposed to those right away.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: And so I'd always had an interest in blood diseases.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: Uh, you know, as a kid, some of it, uh, was because of my upbringing as a Jehovah's Witness. And-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … uh, since, uh, they didn't accept blood transfusions-
Scott Hammond: Right
Dr. Join Luh: … I always, uh, thought, "Okay, what, what can I do to help develop, you know, blood substitutes?" So that kinda got my interest in the hematology side.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: And from there, that kind of overlapped with oncology 'cause a lot of hematologists are also trained in oncology.
Scott Hammond: Interesting.
Dr. Join Luh: But when I signed up for the oncology wards, the faculty on that service was both a radiation oncologist and a hematologist and a medical oncologist.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Dr. Join Luh: And he, for some reason, he took a special interest in what I was gonna do with
Dr. Join Luh: my future.
Scott Hammond: Huh.
Dr. Join Luh: And he really, really wanted me to explore radiation oncology.
Scott Hammond: Huh.
Dr. Join Luh: And, uh, so, um, he was a interesting guy. He was a, he was, he was in his sixties.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: Tan, muscular, had undergone some plastic surgery to, to look younger. He was, he was like an, uh, your true alpha male physician.
Scott Hammond: Huh.
Dr. Join Luh: And so for a lot of us younger students, he was, he was like our hero.
Scott Hammond: He was-
Dr. Join Luh: It's like, "I wanna be like, like him."
Scott Hammond: Like the bro.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: And so I'd see him at the gym working out, and he wanted me to schedule a rotation with him.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: And I kept putting it off, thinking I was gonna go into cardiology or, you know, nephrology or emergency medicine or something like that. Uh, ER was really popular at that time, so a ton of people were applying to-
Scott Hammond: Do an ER
Dr. Join Luh: … go into emergency medicine- … 'cause it was, it was, it was so glamorous. And I'd keep running into him in the gym. He kept saying, "Join. When are you gonna spend a month with me?"
Scott Hammond: Come and hang out.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Huh.
Dr. Join Luh: And so I finally did in my fourth year-
Scott Hammond: Huh
Dr. Join Luh: … and discovered the wonders of radiation
Dr. Join Luh: oncology.
Scott Hammond: Oh.
Dr. Join Luh: Uh, especially that most medical students aren't exposed to it 'cause it's not part of the core curriculum.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Dr. Join Luh: And so, uh, it was like, wow, this is a very highly technology-based specialty. There's a lot of patient contact. You develop patient relationships.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Dr. Join Luh: It– You, you have to know geometry. You have to be able to think in three dimensions.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: Um, and in, in a lot of ways, it gets to your core of your desire of playing video games 'cause you're, like, zapping a tumor.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Dr. Join Luh: So, but at the same time, my mission for med school was to become what they call a real doctor, someone that could do field
Dr. Join Luh: medicine-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … you know, that didn't have to ri- rely on technology. So I was like, I was kind of uncomfortable going straight into radiation oncology.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: Let me, let me learn how to be a real doctor.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: So the chair at the time, uh, who, who was my faculty, uh, you know, told me, "Fine, you know, why don't you go do an internal medicine residency, and after you're done, come here and do radiation oncology and treat it as a subspecialty?"
Scott Hammond: And do another residency?
Dr. Join Luh: Yes.
Scott Hammond: Oh.
Dr. Join Luh: And because even beyond internal medicine, there's a lot of fellowships. You know, you can do cardiology, nephrology, medical oncology with hematology, and a lot of these fellowships can range between, you know, two to four years in length.
Dr. Join Luh: And so-
Scott Hammond: So they kind of pay your way?
Dr. Join Luh: Yes.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Dr. Join Luh: They, they do. And so I would only have to do, like, another four years-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … of radiation oncology if I did an internal medicine residency.
Scott Hammond: I see.
Dr. Join Luh: So, so I said, "Fine. Uh, I'll, I'll do that." So I, I ended up, uh, matching into an internal medicine residency in Galveston, Texas, back to my hometown at UTMB.
Scott Hammond: Got to see Mom.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes, I did, and, uh, made the biggest mistake of my life. You know, I thought I'd live rent-free, you know, with my mom during that internship year. It didn't work out so well.
Scott Hammond: No.
Dr. Join Luh: And I'll, I'll tell you why, because when I left home as a high school student to go
Dr. Join Luh: to college I really didn't spend any, uh, meaningful time at home after that. It was mo- mostly summer vacations or-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … or, uh, uh, or, um, uh, holidays.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Dr. Join Luh: And so I went back to live with her as a 26-year-old medical school graduate. She expected things to be just like the way things were when I was in
Dr. Join Luh: high school.
Scott Hammond: That's… Of course. Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: That I would be home for dinner at a certain time.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Dr. Join Luh: "When, when, when, when are you gonna get home?" And it's like, "I don't know when I'm gonna get home. I'm gonna get home when the work gets done, and I might not come home tonight."
Scott Hammond: Right.
Dr. Join Luh: You know? And so that, that, that didn't work out too well.
Scott Hammond: That didn't fly.
Dr. Join Luh: So after my internship year, I got my own apartment, um, and lived independently. Things, things got a lot better after that.
Scott Hammond: That's awesome. Good story. Hey, if you're just joining us, good to have Dr. Join Luh, my new best friend here on 100% Humboldt podcast. Wanna go to, uh, S- Saint Joseph Providence here in a minute.
Dr. Join Luh: Sure.
Scott Hammond: Wanna talk about oncology and, um, gosh, I imagine you're no stranger to death and to pathology-
Dr. Join Luh: Mm-hmm
Scott Hammond: … and, um, and the people that are involved with the, the personal part of that. And then, uh, maybe talk about your community involvement, 'cause I, I, I almost see
Scott Hammond: you, um, um, in a community role that is, um… It's really deep, 'cause I think you'll make… Y- you're accessible, and you're approachable, and you make medicine, um, real 'cause you're pr- you know, uh, you can talk about it, and, "Hey, I have a question." "Hey, I have a minute. What do you got?" And so that, I think that is, um, that's priceless. So I, I'm not sure where to start on that. I guess, uh, w- you, you then, uh, went back into, uh, radiology and did your, your fellowship there and-
Dr. Join Luh: Right, a separate residency in radiation oncology. It's interesting you said radiology, 'cause that, that's not a mistake
Dr. Join Luh: because v- uh, radiation oncology used to be a subspecialty from radiology.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: And we're still board certified under the American Board of Radiology. But a lot of people confuse us, uh, for radiology.
Scott Hammond: However, it's different.
Dr. Join Luh: Right. We don't, we don't interpret films-
Scott Hammond: Okay
Dr. Join Luh: … uh, or radiographic studies like a radiologist does.
Scott Hammond: You're zapping things.
Dr. Join Luh: Right. We're, we're… So our field used to be known as therapeutic
Dr. Join Luh: radiology-
Scott Hammond: Oh
Dr. Join Luh: … as opposed to diagnostic radiology.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Dr. Join Luh: And then in the late 1990s, early 2000, we kind of d- flipped over to the field of radiation oncology.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Dr. Join Luh: Um-
Scott Hammond: Good difference.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, good distinction.
Dr. Join Luh: Right. And so, yes, I… So I, I ended up moving back to San Antonio. So, so, uh, very, very im- important, um, you know, uh, life event, I ended up meeting my, my wife-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … uh, in Galveston, Texas-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … during my internal medicine residency, and she was actually just a year behind
Dr. Join Luh: me.
Scott Hammond: Oh.
Dr. Join Luh: I met her at an internship welcoming party. So I was already in my second year of internal medicine residency. She was starting her intern year. Um, I, I stalked her for about a year 'cause she was a tall Asian female-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … and, um, got the, the gumption to ask her out finally after, after one year.
Scott Hammond: Atta boy.
Dr. Join Luh: And then we, we, uh, were an item. So, so ended up happening after I finished my internal medicine residency, I ended up staying behind in Galveston-
Scott Hammond: Oh
Dr. Join Luh: … uh, and got hired as an emergency medicine, um, f- uh, faculty at UTMB Galveston.
Scott Hammond: How about that?
Dr. Join Luh: So I worked for two years, uh, to stay behind for a year while she finished her third year of internal medicine residency.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: And then when she went off to Wash U to do her allergy fellowship-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … um, I stayed on for another year to make enough money to where I could save up, uh, pay off my student loans-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … and go visit her every month. Thank you thou- Southwest Airlines.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: Um-
Scott Hammond: Where, where was she at?
Dr. Join Luh: She was at Wash U-
Scott Hammond: Where?
Dr. Join Luh: … in St. Louis.
Scott Hammond: St. Louis.
Dr. Join Luh: St. Louis.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Dr. Join Luh: And then, and so we were, uh, we were in… We dated for two years. We were engaged for two years. During the, um, the, um, second year in the engagement, I, I did my two years, uh, in the emergency department, moved back to San Antonio, and then started my radiation oncology residency.
Scott Hammond: Wow. Did she follow you then?
Dr. Join Luh: Well, she was, she still had one more year left-
Scott Hammond: Oh
Dr. Join Luh: … uh, of fellowship, so it wasn't until after I finished my first year of radiation oncology-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Dr. Join Luh: … that we got married.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: And then she still had another left, month left after, uh, of training after we got married.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Dr. Join Luh: And then after that, she moved in with me in San Antonio.
Scott Hammond: So long distance for a minute.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes. It was.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Wow.
Dr. Join Luh: And I, I have Southwest Airlines to thank for making it affordable for me to go visit her.
Scott Hammond: Right. Right. Yeah. We, we forget what that's like 'cause United, you got to… It's 500 bucks to get on the plane-
Dr. Join Luh: Yes
Scott Hammond: … up here. Uh, well, I-
Dr. Join Luh: True
Scott Hammond: … I exaggerate. No, I don't. I'm not exaggerating at all. And your, yes, your wife is very tall.
Dr. Join Luh: She is.
Scott Hammond: And remind me, I wanna talk to you about after the show, um, somebody suggested she might be a great podcast guest.
Dr. Join Luh: She could very well be.
Scott Hammond: Yes.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. She seems very gracious. I've met her, of course, a time or two.
Dr. Join Luh: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: Um, so talk to me about oncology and, and the, the people, uh, you work with, the tech, and the f- the patients and how the tech has come, I'm guessing, a long ways like everything else, right?
Dr. Join Luh: Absolutely.
Scott Hammond: And my cell phone does better things. I imagine radiation oncology's doing great things.
Dr. Join Luh: For sure. When I started my training in 2003 in San Antonio, we were still using flip phones. Um, and, you know, look how far we've come there.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Dr. Join Luh: And so when I started my tr- my, my training, uh, with radiation oncology, the, a lot of the techniques we were using to treat patients were, would be viewed as crude today.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: Um, we, um, uh, I can remember in treating people with head and neck cancer, uh, the way we would design our fields is we'd take an X-ray of, you know, of the side, front, and then we'd, we'd have that X-ray film put on a X-ray viewer that you'd, you'd, you'd, you'd, you'd, uh, put up, and we'd take a wax pencil and draw our fields based on bony anatomy.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Dr. Join Luh: Now, you know, fast-forward, we use a, a technique called intensity-modulated radiation therapy, or IMRT.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: And that requires that a person get a CT scan-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … and then you outline the volumes slice by slice what you wanna treat.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Dr. Join Luh: And then you outline the adjacent lymph nodes or tissues at risk that would get a lower dose.
Scott Hammond: So it's mapping everything.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes. It, it's what we call dose painting. It's, it's, it's an art now-
Scott Hammond: Huh
Dr. Join Luh: … uh, almost. And you, you're really able to stratify the levels of doses that people get in, in their-
Scott Hammond: Wow
Dr. Join Luh: … um, in their body versus just blasting everything with the same dose of
Dr. Join Luh: radiation.
Scott Hammond: That's amazing. So, um- AI's gotta be playing into this soon, if it hasn't already, in terms of the tech and bringing in new, I guess new knowledge-
Dr. Join Luh: Absolutely
Scott Hammond: … or, or connecting knowledge that we have.
Dr. Join Luh: Absolutely. Something I didn't have as a resident, uh, 'cause we were still developing the, the skills to be able to outline, uh, the, uh, the, the sites that we wanted to treat.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: And we would– We got very good at using a mouse-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … uh, in order to trace, uh, you know, tumor slice by slice, and then come up with a volume that-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Dr. Join Luh: … we're actually gonna be treating. Now w- fast-forward now, and, uh, over 15 years into practice, you know, th-this August will be 18 years here in Humboldt.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Dr. Join Luh: We're now seeing products that will do contouring for
Dr. Join Luh: you.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: So, uh, the– you just basically have the CT scan to map out the patient's anatomy, and you run the program, and it automatically contours the, the structures for you.
Dr. Join Luh: Now-
Scott Hammond: Wow
Dr. Join Luh: … you still have to check it because AI can still make mistakes.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Dr. Join Luh: So I'm still a little bit on the fence about whether it really saves me time-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … 'cause almost always I have to make a few adjustments here and there.
Scott Hammond: Really? Okay.
Dr. Join Luh: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: So it's not, not the a- not the answer quite yet.
Dr. Join Luh: Not quite yet. Yeah.
Scott Hammond: So what's typical then? So let's say, um, uh, Joe Blow has cancer. You did the th-the, the, the s- the mapping. You– This person is sedated, and then they sit under some sort of a laser tool or, or
Scott Hammond: radiation,
Scott Hammond: um-
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah, the-
Scott Hammond: What, what are the mechanics typically of, of a typical, you know, um, run-of-the-mill treatment?
Dr. Join Luh: Sure. So o-obviously after seeing a patient for consult and discussing their treatment, doing a physical exam, and doing all the things any other doctor would do in the clinic setting-
Scott Hammond: Sure
Dr. Join Luh: … uh, they come back and do a simulation session where we actually do the CT scan, uh, to visualize the area that we're gonna treat.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: And, uh, that's where they get the famous tattoos.
Dr. Join Luh: And so-
Scott Hammond: Oh, right
Dr. Join Luh: … their, their, their dots no larger than the mole that we use to line up to laser pointers in the room so we know how to set them up externally.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: And they usually get, um, fit into a cradle, uh, that, that conforms to their, their body that they can just kind of fit into so that-
Scott Hammond: Hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … each day they come in for treatment, they're in the same position as they were when they got their CT scan.
Scott Hammond: Oh.
Dr. Join Luh: And so after the CT scan's done, I do my work in outlining the area that I want to treat and outlining the areas that I don't want treated as well, 'cause we also have what, what we call avoidance structures.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: Um, the planning takes about a week to do.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Dr. Join Luh: So typically after the simulation, it's at least a week or two before they actually get their first dose of radiation. Because after I'm done with my outlining or setting up the beams or drawing the shapes that I want, the– what I do ends up going to a dosimetrist-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Dr. Join Luh: … which is a profession th- where they take what I've drawn and decide, okay, what energy of radiation do we need to be able to reach this tumor and achieve what Dr. Luh wants?
Scott Hammond: Are those the paint- painters you were talking about?
Dr. Join Luh: Well, I d- I do the painting.
Scott Hammond: You're the painting.
Dr. Join Luh: But they're the ones that, that actually say, "Okay, what, what angles do we need to
Dr. Join Luh: use?"
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: "What dose penetration do we need?"
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: You know, um, "How do we modulate the shape of the
Dr. Join Luh: field-"
Scott Hammond: Mm
Dr. Join Luh: "… you know, in what angle to get the dose cloud that-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … that I want?" And then after that's done, it gets vetted by f- medical physicist who, you know, ensures that this, this, um, plan, uh, is feasible because the machine is a linear
Dr. Join Luh: accelerator.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: And it delivers radiation by rotating around a patient via a gantry-
Scott Hammond: Wow
Dr. Join Luh: … uh, that directing, uh, the, uh, the radiation to the, the, the patient. And you have to make sure that there's no issues with collision-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … because the, the table that they're on can be adjusted in different angles, and-
Scott Hammond: Wow
Dr. Join Luh: … it's going around the patient. And within each beam, there's leaves that shape the beam.
Scott Hammond: Huh.
Dr. Join Luh: And you can modulate the intensity of the beam within the beam.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Dr. Join Luh: So just like vectors that we learned in high school about how, you know, multiple lines can affect the shape of, or, or the direction of where a, a line is gonna go-
Scott Hammond: Sure
Dr. Join Luh: … a beam can be, uh, modulated in multiple different angles to give you a shape of radiation that you
Dr. Join Luh: want.
Scott Hammond: Interesting. Huh.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: I can, I can see my wife when she's– Joni, when you like th- she's nerding up
Scott Hammond: on this. It's coming. It's– I love this.
Scott Hammond: So, um, is it typically effective? Is it more effective with this new modality– well, new levels of modalities?
Dr. Join Luh: It is because it allows us to give a higher dose-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … without harming-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Dr. Join Luh: … normal tissue.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: So the, the, the, the constraints that we had when I was in training before we had or used IMRT more commonly was that we c- we, we, um, we had to limit how much radiation we gave-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … because we had to respect the tolerance that the normal tissues had to the radiation before the-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … the, uh, side effects, uh, would become intolerable.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: So now with more focused treatments and the technology being able to deliver more conformal treatments-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … you, you're able to give a higher dose without worrying about the surrounding
Dr. Join Luh: tissues.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: Because typically when, you know, uh, someone fails radiation, the, the usual, um, culprit is you weren't able to give a high enough dose.
Scott Hammond: I see. I see. Is it fair to ask the question how does, how does our tech compare to, say, Stanford or Cal or UCLA or-
Dr. Join Luh: Ab- absolutely. I was actually quite impressed when I first came here in 2007-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … because w-we already had IMRT capabilities here. Most rural communities did not have that-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … in 2007.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Dr. Join Luh: And I was very impressed that we actually had a PET/CT scanner.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: We didn't even have one at the university in San Antonio-
Scott Hammond: Huh
Dr. Join Luh: … that was, that, that was functional that we could use for treatment planning.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: So when I came here, we, um, we actually had a lot of referrals from UCSF and Stanford of patients that would go
Dr. Join Luh: down there-
Scott Hammond: And come up here.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah, and, and they would refer them right back to us.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Dr. Join Luh: Now, come around t-2014, 2015, we couldn't really say the same thing because things started– our machines got really old. And thanks to a lot of the fundraising efforts that were done through the, uh, the hospital and, and the work of Paul McGinty, who was, who was our
Dr. Join Luh: former-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Dr. Join Luh: … you know, chief, um, philanthropy officer, we were able to raise the money to buy two new state-of-the-art-
Scott Hammond: Sweet
Dr. Join Luh: … linear accelerators in 2015.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: And that, that put us right on par with what Stanford-
Scott Hammond: Wow
Dr. Join Luh: … and UCSF had. So we were able to add things like stereotactic radiosurgery, stereotactic body radiation-
Scott Hammond: Hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … uh, things that we used to have to refer out-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … um, that we could now keep here in Humboldt.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Scott Hammond: That's– Mind-blowing. So, hey, if you're just joining us, uh, my friend Dr. John Luh in telling us about, uh, his journey, his story in medicine. And let's, let's talk about medicine in, in, in Humboldt and, and, and Pro- Providence. Um, what's your, what's your take? Uh, people say call it the medical desert. We're, we're without some things, and I suppose that's still true. But what's your, um– Where have we been? Where are we? Where are we going? Um, c- 'cause I feel like you might have a pulse on that better than some.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah. I tell you, Humboldt County used to be a very well-resourced medical mecca. You know, they, they were recognized nationally as the, the best case for rural medicine. We, we had a lot of physicians here back in the 1990s.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: Even when I came here in 2007, there was a large amount of independent practices, and we, we, we didn't have a primary care shortage. We had pediatricians. We had– And we had Humboldt Pediatrics, which was an independent practice. We had Eureka Internal Medicine.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Dr. Join Luh: Uh, we had, you know, Redwood Family Practice, Eureka Family Practice, and, you know, a lot of subspecialties that, uh, had their own private offices and, and people were very active in the Medical Society. You know, fast-forward now, I would say 80% to 90% of the physicians here in Humboldt now are employed-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … and most of them either through Mad River or Open Door Clinic or through the Providence Health system.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: And it's, it's really a function of,
Dr. Join Luh: um, number one, the declining Medicare reimbursements making it really hard to be independent.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: Um, and a lot more regulatory burden in staying independent-
Scott Hammond: Right
Dr. Join Luh: … uh, forcing a lot of physician practices to just throw their hands up and say, "Just employ me and give me a check every month."
Scott Hammond: So this is true nationally?
Dr. Join Luh: It is true nationally.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. So you have, uh, Providence writing, underwriting your insurance, your every– your office, your everything.
Dr. Join Luh: Right.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: Right.
Scott Hammond: Far easier.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes. Um, but it does come with a cost-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … you know, in terms of autonomy-
Scott Hammond: Right
Dr. Join Luh: … and the ability to, to, uh, structure practice. A lot of people don't know this about my practice is that we, we are an independent physician group-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … but we have a contract with, uh, Providence Health, uh, St. Joseph Hospital.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: And that, that contract has been in place since 1978.
Scott Hammond: Is this you and others?
Dr. Join Luh: Yes. Yes. So-
Scott Hammond: The, the whole team or just-
Dr. Join Luh: Right. So Dr. Michael Harmon was the one that recruited me to come here.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: He's still, he's still here, and I really thank him for building a practice that allowed me to stay here-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … for close to 18 years and counting.
Scott Hammond: Wow. Yeah. You, you stuck around.
Dr. Join Luh: I did.
Scott Hammond: Glad, glad, glad you have. So how about personal stories? Without, uh, without HIPAA violations or names, but-
Dr. Join Luh: Mm-hmm
Scott Hammond: … have some of the, um, those folks made an input- impact on your life, the ones that you've been able to help, and maybe those that you haven't?
Dr. Join Luh: Absolutely. Uh, I, uh, you know, cancer affects people of all walks of life.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: So I've, I've met the entire spectrum of
Dr. Join Luh: people-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … here in Humboldt County.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: Um, you know, people who are very well-resourced, people who are homeless, um, and everything in between.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: And it's– it really gave me a, uh, an accelerated-
Scott Hammond: Hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … uh, you know, taste of the, uh, the people here.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: And, um, and that's probably been one of the most rewarding things about being here was meeting the people-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … seeing the difference that we've been able to make. Even if we weren't able to cure them, uh, we were unsuccessful in eradicating the cancer-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … it still felt rewarding to be there for them-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … and, uh, you know, be with them during their journey, to educate them, and to, um, let them know what to, what to expect in the future, and get them connected to the resources that they needed.
Scott Hammond: Sure. Of which I think, I would guess there's plenty.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes.
Scott Hammond: Maybe– There may be doctor shortages, but not necessarily, um, community health groups to help resource people.
Dr. Join Luh: Right.
Scott Hammond: Not palliative care, whatever.
Dr. Join Luh: Right. We're s- we're– W- obviously, there's challenges in that arena as well.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: But when you get to know– When you've been here for almost 18 years, you get to know where all the nooks and crannies are-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Dr. Join Luh: … and know where you can call in a favor-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … so that, you know, what normally would take months, you know, ends up taking a couple days-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Dr. Join Luh: … to do.
Scott Hammond: I had Dr. Fracken as part– one of my early guests, Michael Fracken.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes.
Scott Hammond: Did you guys work together much?
Scott Hammond: I mean-
Dr. Join Luh: We did. We did.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: In fact, he was one of the first people I met.
Scott Hammond: Oh, is that right?
Dr. Join Luh: Uh, I, I, I always joke that when I first moved here, I didn't know what he– where he was employed or where he was 'cause there was always a new project-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Dr. Join Luh: … that he was working on. So I had a collection of business cards from him- … of all very, the various roles that he had.
Scott Hammond: Shout out to you, Michael.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. No, amaz- amazing guy, really-
Dr. Join Luh: Yes
Scott Hammond: … really fun. So, uh, so as an advocate for, not only for medicine, but also for, uh, f- for Humboldt and for Providence, you're, you're kind of out there. You're on some– Are you on some boards? I assume that you, you serve, uh… You're, you're connected to the foundation, clearly, and to-
Dr. Join Luh: Yes
Scott Hammond: … and to Destination Humboldt with me.
Dr. Join Luh: Right. Yes.
Scott Hammond: So let's talk about that. Um, Destination, let's go
Scott Hammond: there.
Dr. Join Luh: Sure.
Scott Hammond: Um, never served on a board. I'm on a board. It's cool. We bring doctors to Humboldt and ask them to stay for at least five years-
Dr. Join Luh: Yes
Scott Hammond: … and pay their med bills.
Dr. Join Luh: Right.
Scott Hammond: Did I catch the mission about– That's pretty close.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes.
Scott Hammond: It's under contract.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes.
Scott Hammond: But I, I think it's been amazing. I mean, Dan, Dan Hayne, uh, down in Fortuna-
Dr. Join Luh: Mm-hmm
Scott Hammond: … is our GP.
Dr. Join Luh: Right.
Scott Hammond: Joni and I– Shout out, Dan. Good job down there.
Dr. Join Luh: Absolutely.
Scott Hammond: Um-
Dr. Join Luh: And he's a, he's a graduate from our f- family medicine re- residency program.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: So we– It, it was a perfect example how we grow our own-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … you know, medical expertise.
Scott Hammond: And he's going nowhere and just expanding his caseload, and it's like-
Dr. Join Luh: Yes
Scott Hammond: … has, has staff to do that with, and-
Dr. Join Luh: Right
Scott Hammond: … he seems like he's an early success, big-time success story.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes. And I have to thank him for making me look good because I've had a lot of patients looking for a primary care physician that I was able to refer to
Dr. Join Luh: him.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: And so they, they're really appreciative of me, so I, I thank, uh, you know, Dan Hayne for, uh, making me look really good.
Scott Hammond: And me. Uh, 65 years old up in McKinleyville with no doctor.
Dr. Join Luh: Mm-hmm. Right.
Scott Hammond: It's like– And Joni, so– And our 20-year-old Micah. So he's, um- It's coming to the table, and it, it seems like it's really good care so far, so I- we're pretty happy.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes.
Scott Hammond: Hey, so, uh, that part of our show where we ask you a couple questions about, uh, Humboldt. You ready?
Dr. Join Luh: Absolutely.
Scott Hammond: You got a day off. You can do whatever you want with your bride. You guys do whatever. We'll pay for it. What do you, what do you go do? Uh, let me… Let me ring the bell.
Dr. Join Luh: Oh, yeah. We have to use the bell.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Sorry, I forgot the bell.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Quiz time. Uh, oh, and you're looking for, uh, one of these. Oh, hey. It's a Dick Taylor craft chocolate, 73% dark. Brown butter, nibs-
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … and sea salt, and pretty dang good, but you haven't earned it yet, so-
Dr. Join Luh: Okay
Scott Hammond: … we'll just put that right there.
Dr. Join Luh: You're tempting me.
Scott Hammond: I'll keep, keep an eye on that right there.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Do you guys like chocolate?
Dr. Join Luh: We do. Well, especially my wife, Maddie, um, also known as Dr. Madeline Ramos. She's a, a big aficionado of chocolate, especially dark chocolate.
Scott Hammond: Does she like theirs?
Dr. Join Luh: She does.
Scott Hammond: Oh.
Dr. Join Luh: She's a big fan.
Scott Hammond: Maddie, this is your day.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes.
Scott Hammond: Well, we'll see how he does. Yeah. I, uh, I think most wives like chocolate. I don't e- Joni's told me that.
Scott Hammond: She, he is-
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … she goes, "Most women like chocolate." I go-
Dr. Join Luh: Right
Scott Hammond: … I didn't say it. It wasn't-
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … it's not a, a gender statement on my part. I'm just repeating it.
Dr. Join Luh: Right.
Scott Hammond: So question number one.
Dr. Join Luh: Okay.
Scott Hammond: You got a day. Do whatever you want. What are you gonna do in Humboldt? You got your day off. They don't even want you to call the office-
Dr. Join Luh: Okay
Scott Hammond: … or suit up or anything, c- so you can do what you want with Maddie. What are you guys g- gonna do?
Dr. Join Luh: Uh, usually it, uh, starts with a nice breakfast. So, so there's a lot of choices. You know, if we're gonna stay in, she makes the best scrambled eggs.
Scott Hammond: Uh-huh.
Dr. Join Luh: Soft, fluffy-
Scott Hammond: Perfect
Dr. Join Luh: … just right, um, and crisps the bacon just, just, you know… It, it, it's, it's heavenly. And then she does this, this pressed coffee that's-
Scott Hammond: Oh
Dr. Join Luh: … strong-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Dr. Join Luh: … and very, very, very, very rich.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: Um, so if we stayed home, we, we, we would do that. If we wanted to go out for breakfast, there's a lot of choices.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: You know, um, I'm a, I'm a big donut fan, you know.
Scott Hammond: Really?
Dr. Join Luh: And so, um, uh- … a side story. I, I… You know, growing up in Galveston, Texas, where I, I, I love donuts. Glazed donuts are one of my favorite, um, uh, you know, uh, uh,
Dr. Join Luh: vices.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Dr. Join Luh: And so the, um, uh… So d- some of my favorite donuts are, uh, McIntosh Farms, uh, makes some really-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Dr. Join Luh: … great donuts and a really very rich breakfast.
Scott Hammond: Up in Arcata.
Dr. Join Luh: Um, yes, up in Arcata.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, big breakfast.
Dr. Join Luh: Um, yes, yes.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: Um, I love the Chalet, the Chalet Omelette. Uh, I, I used to take my, my, my kids there-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … uh, you know, at the Eureka location, when they had that kind of thatched roof, um, location.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Dr. Join Luh: But the Cutten location is great.
Dr. Join Luh: They have-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … one of the best omelettes. Um, Happy Donuts, uh, is, is great as well.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Dr. Join Luh: And so yeah, lots of choices in terms of having a big, hearty
Dr. Join Luh: breakfast.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: Oh, Renata's Creperie too is, uh, also a favorite.
Scott Hammond: Oh, really good. Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Good. Okay, so b- you started with the breakfast.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes.
Scott Hammond: What, what are we doing with the rest of the day?
Dr. Join Luh: So, d- uh, we, we, we love the outdoors, so, uh, we'll either take a hike through the Arcata Community Forest.
Scott Hammond: Oh.
Dr. Join Luh: I, I sort of live just a block away from the forest.
Scott Hammond: Oh, perfect.
Dr. Join Luh: I mountain bike there all the time, so I know it like the back of my hand.
Scott Hammond: My wife runs it all the time.
Dr. Join Luh: Very cool.
Scott Hammond: Hikes and runs, yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah. We love Trinidad, so we'll, we'll probably do, do some hikes in Trinidad.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: Uh, you know, walk around there, and, um, you know, w- and so if it's just her and me, she doesn't, she doesn't get in the water that much, but she's really into the, the exploration
Dr. Join Luh: via hiking.
Scott Hammond: Sure, and we can do a lot here.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes.
Scott Hammond: Right over here on the map. I get to use my prop. There's lots of hiking right over… See right where I'm pointing? Tons of hiking.
Dr. Join Luh: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Uh, my wife's turned me on to a whole bunch of places I'd never been.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes.
Scott Hammond: And she's still-
Dr. Join Luh: So has mine
Scott Hammond: … th- she and her friend Sarah are still exploring, um, uh, Prairie Creek. It's just endless. The state park is full of crazy stuff.
Dr. Join Luh: Very true.
Scott Hammond: Question number two.
Dr. Join Luh: Okay.
Scott Hammond: It's the end of the day. You've been hiking. Where are you gonna take Maddie for dinner 'cause it's on 100% Humboldt podcast?
Dr. Join Luh: Yes, yes. So, so we have a lot of favorites.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: Um, I, uh, uh… We love Moonstone Grill-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Dr. Join Luh: … uh, for, for the view.
Scott Hammond: Oh, man.
Dr. Join Luh: Their, their, their ribeyes are amazing.
Scott Hammond: Oh, really? Okay.
Dr. Join Luh: So tender.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Dr. Join Luh: Uh, they, they're the best. We love The Laripins. We're a big fan of, of that.
Dr. Join Luh: The, uh-
Scott Hammond: Oh, yeah
Dr. Join Luh: … uh, the second floor, you know, intimate setting. I, I, I know Fred Moore's a big fan of that, that place as well.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Dr. Join Luh: Um, and we've, we've had a lot of departmental, uh, parties there too.
Scott Hammond: I bet you have, yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah. It's a, it's a great place. We love Sea Grill. Sea Grill's a great, great place as well. They, they have, uh-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … uh, their prime rib is, is, is good, and they have-
Scott Hammond: Okay
Dr. Join Luh: … great seafood selections.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: Um, uh, Humboldt Bay Bistro is, is, is also-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Dr. Join Luh: … a, a nice place that we, we enjoy going to for, uh, you know, upper scale. Uh, we also, for, uh, late, later night dining, we love Tandoori
Dr. Join Luh: Bites.
Scott Hammond: Uh-huh.
Dr. Join Luh: Uh, their, their butter chicken is amazing.
Scott Hammond: Yes, delicious.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes.
Scott Hammond: I, I had no idea what that was till I had it. It's really good.
Dr. Join Luh: Right. Right.
Scott Hammond: They, they said, uh… Our friends Peter and Sarah Starr from, uh, the club, they love, uh, Szechuan Gardens up in North Town Arcata.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes. We-
Scott Hammond: They're from New York.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes.
Scott Hammond: And they said that rivals any Chinese you can eat in New York.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes. My, my youngest son loves that place. My middle son has actually worked there-
Scott Hammond: Oh, is that right?
Dr. Join Luh: … as a, as a server, uh, before. And so we, we know the owners really well.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: And they, they really do make authentic Chinese food, so that's, that's usually our go-to if we wa- w- want something, you know, spicy and-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … you know, very, very authentic.
Scott Hammond: They have a lot of spice there.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes, they do.
Scott Hammond: It's good. It's good. Question number three. Uh, coffee joint. Where do you… If you could have any coffee on or off duty, what, where do you… what's your go-to?
Dr. Join Luh: That, that's a great question.
Dr. Join Luh: Um, I'm-
Scott Hammond: Seems like donuts have to go with coffee, right?
Dr. Join Luh: Yes, yes. They, they, they do, and, and a lot of times I'll, I'll just be lazy and just buy the coffee from w- wherever I get the donuts, and-
Scott Hammond: Sure
Dr. Join Luh: … my two favorite are Happy Donuts and Donut Mill.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: Um, Don's Donuts in Arcata, they make great apple fritters.
Scott Hammond: Ah.
Dr. Join Luh: But, uh, as far as glazed donuts, Happy Donuts wins-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … and then, uh, w- very close second with, with the Donut Mill. But as far as coffee, um, you know, uh-
Dr. Join Luh: I'm a, uh, I'm pretty easy to please. You know, if it, if it comes to, like, a fancy coffee, if you-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … if you're gonna ask what I'm gonna get at Starbucks, it's usually, if it's hot and I want something sweet, I'll usually get a Frappuccino, a caramel Frappuccino.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Dr. Join Luh: Um, you know, but if I, if I want something that's, um, uh, that's gonna wake me up in the morning-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … uh, I'll get the Pike's Place roast from-
Scott Hammond: Ah
Dr. Join Luh: … from Starbucks.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: But I have been to… Uh, I love Jitterbean. They make great iced coffee.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: Uh, I've been to Dutch Brothers. Um, I don't, I don't go there as often.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Dr. Join Luh: But, um, but yeah, uh, but I… You can't beat Costco's, uh, frozen coffee too.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: Um, I, I… Whenever I go shop there, I stop by for one of their frozen coffees.
Scott Hammond: Okay. You ever, uh, you ever heard of Philz Coffee, P-H-I-L-Z, in the Bay Area?
Dr. Join Luh: Yes.
Scott Hammond: It-
Dr. Join Luh: I don't think I've ever been there.
Scott Hammond: It's, it's… There's only 20 or so locations, but they're, um, magical, where there's… They started in the Mission District, and-
Dr. Join Luh: Mm-hmm
Scott Hammond: … they have three sizes: small, medium, large. And you can pick from 15, uh, different beans, and-
Dr. Join Luh: Wow
Scott Hammond: … they're all po- custom pour overs.
Scott Hammond: So they-
Dr. Join Luh: I see
Scott Hammond: … takes about eight or nine minutes to get your coffee.
Dr. Join Luh: Sure.
Scott Hammond: But your… Every time y- you… The notes, and you can actually taste the coffee.
Dr. Join Luh: Wow.
Scott Hammond: Nothing bitter. That, that's doesn't even-
Dr. Join Luh: Mm-hmm
Scott Hammond: … exist there. It's pretty good coffee, so coffee snobs, uh, unite. Well, hey, congrats on the, uh… You've answered all the questions correctly.
Dr. Join Luh: Wonderful.
Scott Hammond: Uh.
Dr. Join Luh: Had to know what was right or wrong.
Scott Hammond: That's, that's really… There isn't. 'Cause there isn't.
Dr. Join Luh: Thank you.
Scott Hammond: So what, what do you see as our future opportunity in, uh, in medicine as a public, and how could we get involved?
Scott Hammond: Websites?
Dr. Join Luh: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: What, what would you say the average, uh, Joe, uh, or, or Mary could do to, to help medicine in Humboldt now and going forward?
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah. I, I, I think number one is recruitment.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: And just optimizing our s- our search engines.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: Um, people I talk to about how wonderful Humboldt County is do a search, and they read about the homelessness, the
Dr. Join Luh: drugs-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … the, the, the so-called pollution. Come on. This is, this is not a polluted place.
Scott Hammond: No.
Dr. Join Luh: But they read about the bird droppings near Moonstone Beach, and they, and they get all freaked out about that. And so there's gotta be some way we can optimize the searches for this area.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: Because w- if you actually come here and see the, the
Dr. Join Luh: beauty and-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … the natural resources we have, you'll get hooked. I mean… And, and this… And I'm so glad that the Providence is now doing independent recruiting for Humboldt County-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … rather than making it a systemic recruitment effort.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: Because a lot of the people from the system have never been here.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: And they, and they just treat us like a l- another number.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: When Mike Harmon recruited me, because he's independent, he had the freedom to put me up wherever.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: Put me up in Trinidad during my interview.
Scott Hammond: Perfect.
Dr. Join Luh: So I woke up every morning during my first trip to Humboldt overlooking the Pacific Ocean, seeing the Trinidad Lighthouse-
Scott Hammond: Sp-
Dr. Join Luh: … and actually meeting some fishermen that were trying to sell Dungeness crab-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Dr. Join Luh: … and getting my first taste of fresh Dungeness crab.
Scott Hammond: Oh, man.
Dr. Join Luh: And so I was like, "You know what? This being a place where a lot of people come to retire-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … I could start that process right now."
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Dr. Join Luh: Why wait?
Scott Hammond: Mike's a smart guy.
Dr. Join Luh: He is.
Scott Hammond: He's a good recruiter. No, it's, it's really true. It's like, I don't know what you would lack as a doctor, you know, in… or somebody in the field to come up here. I met a g- met a guy last night. He's a, um, um, uh, this… He's a surge tech, and, and he's traveling, but he s- took a full-time job.
Dr. Join Luh: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: Sticking around.
Dr. Join Luh: Great.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: Awesome.
Scott Hammond: Staying in a beautiful home in Blue Lake.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Last night we were 70 degrees and perfect and-
Dr. Join Luh: Right
Scott Hammond: … like-
Dr. Join Luh: Oh, you can't beat the weather here.
Scott Hammond: Oh.
Dr. Join Luh: I mean, compared to Texas, where I, I'll say I sweat a lot less now.
Scott Hammond: Oh, sure.
Dr. Join Luh: And I don't have to deal with the heat and humidity.
Scott Hammond: Oh.
Dr. Join Luh: You don't need an air conditioner here.
Scott Hammond: No.
Dr. Join Luh: And so, uh, it's-
Scott Hammond: You do. It's opening windows
Dr. Join Luh: … I love it. Yes.
Scott Hammond: Your windows come open.
Dr. Join Luh: Absolutely.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. It's, it's really true. The… I remember it being 99 and, and 99 at 7:00 in the morning in Houston.
Dr. Join Luh: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: Just miserable. It's like-
Dr. Join Luh: Right
Scott Hammond: … how do you guys live down here?
Dr. Join Luh: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: Florida? Forget about it.
Dr. Join Luh: Right.
Scott Hammond: What's even wrong with you, dude?
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: And I tell people that that was… changed my mindset in terms of the environment. You know, in, in Texas, you got fire ants. You got mosquitoes. You got rattlesnakes.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Dr. Join Luh: You got sticker burrs. The environment's not friendly to you, so no wonder you're not an environmentalist.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: You just wanna pour concrete everywhere.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: And so you move here, and it's like, it's cool. I can lay on the grass, and fire ants aren't gonna eat me up-
Scott Hammond: Right
Dr. Join Luh: … or mosquitoes aren't gonna eat me up.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Dr. Join Luh: You know? Um, yeah, there's mountain lions and, and bears, but they, they stay away, but it's not, like, an immediate threat.
Scott Hammond: No.
Dr. Join Luh: And so it's like-
Scott Hammond: Right
Dr. Join Luh: … wow.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: I like being outdoors.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: Let's preserve the environment.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: So total change in mindset.
Scott Hammond: There's no bad weather, just bad clothing for the weather.
Dr. Join Luh: Correct.
Scott Hammond: So you could go out all year long and… Yeah. Now, you mentioned Trinidad. Um, it is the benchmark for fresh air in America.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes.
Scott Hammond: It's, it's… I, I read that or heard that and-
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … 'cause of that, that Gulf of Alaska wind that comes in.
Dr. Join Luh: Absolutely.
Scott Hammond: That pure air. It's funny. With nine kids, the, those that come back to visit-
Dr. Join Luh: Mm
Scott Hammond: … go down, "Dad, this air is am- I remember this smell." And, and what hits them-
Dr. Join Luh: Come back.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Or, or no.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Maybe not. Um, so… But the air that they get hit with-
Dr. Join Luh: Mm-hmm
Scott Hammond: … and the, the, uh, the smell of the ocean, even in-
Dr. Join Luh: Absolutely
Scott Hammond: … McKinleyville is, uh, is stunning. Sc- Scenic Drive and Trinidad and-
Dr. Join Luh: For sure
Scott Hammond: … you know, Sue Meg, uh, formerly Patrick's Point, um-
Dr. Join Luh: Yes
Scott Hammond: … gosh, you know, it's all within 10 minutes from where we live.
Scott Hammond: It's like-
Dr. Join Luh: Right
Scott Hammond: … what? When you live next to Disneyland, you should go once in
Scott Hammond: a while.
Dr. Join Luh: Right.
Scott Hammond: You know?
Dr. Join Luh: For sure.
Scott Hammond: It's pretty cool.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Take advantage of that.
Dr. Join Luh: I tell people that Humboldt is one of the places where you can, you can go
Dr. Join Luh: fishing.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: You can play golf. You can go surfing. You can go mountain biking.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: You can do all those things-
Scott Hammond: River run
Dr. Join Luh: … in one day.
Scott Hammond: Oh, yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: You know? If you wanna do all those things in the Bay Area or in LA, you better be a billionaire with a helicopter to take two to all those places.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Where would you go? I can't even- You know, the, the ocean. I don't… That's a great question.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: So how do we as- how do we get involved in medicine locally? How can we donate to the foundation or to Destination Humboldt? I suppose there's people that have money or resources they could donate. That'd be one thing.
Dr. Join Luh: Right. Right. Yeah, so, so, uh, uh, thanks for mentioning. The St. Joseph Hospital Foundation-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … is, uh, tied to helping with recruitment and retention-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … and helping doctors that are here stay, and also it's a great recruiting tool for the pipeline of primary care doctors that are being trained here-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … to stay and have their, um, their career here in Humboldt.
Scott Hammond: That, that's a big deal.
Dr. Join Luh: And so that, that, that is. And also there's a lot of patient support organizations here, too. Um, uh, uh, I'd like to call out the, the Breast, Gin and Health Project-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … based in Arcata-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … supports women-
Scott Hammond: They're wonderful
Dr. Join Luh: … with both gynecologic and breast cancers, uh, connecting them to resources to
Dr. Join Luh: help-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … them get through the journey of their, their cancer treatments. Um, and so, you know, a lot of these lo- we, we have a ton of local, um, you know, um, organizations to help people, you know, not just patients, you know, people who-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … may be food insecure, housing insecure, you know, uh, for education. You know, just, just so many ways to give people a helping
Dr. Join Luh: hand-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … that they can support. Uh, but, you know, in the medical arena, you know, um, uh, you know, there's, there's the St. Joseph Hospital Foundation.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: Our Humboldt Del Norte County Medical Society-
Scott Hammond: Hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … uh, is also a, um, an organization for physicians that, uh, uh, citizens can, uh, you know, h- here in Humboldt can, uh, can engage with-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … and, uh, and get information from.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: Um, and also, uh, see what, what, uh, they can do to help, you know, uh, tie new physicians to-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … members in the community.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: And I think, uh, some of the efforts that the St. Joseph Hospital Foundation is doing in involving board members with some of the recruitment visits-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … is gonna be a great idea.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Yeah, come and see Old Town. Come in to Trinidad.
Dr. Join Luh: Right.
Scott Hammond: Stay up in Trinidad.
Dr. Join Luh: Right.
Scott Hammond: Airbnb.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes.
Scott Hammond: Um, and Larribe's not bad, and you could eat there every night if you want when you
Scott Hammond: move here.
Dr. Join Luh: You could, yes.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Uh, seven days a week. Um, so my question then is, or my comment is the foundation also is an arm for, um, uh, money that comes in and then equipment that's bought-
Dr. Join Luh: Yes
Scott Hammond: … that is desperately needed.
Dr. Join Luh: Right.
Scott Hammond: Or there just wasn't a bu- so but they're able to, uh… Well, talk about that, like the, uh, the robot, uh, the surgic- the surg
Scott Hammond: robot.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes. So we have for years, uh, we've, uh, the surgeons here have wanted a da Vinci robot, and it's-
Scott Hammond: Da Vinci.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah. So that's the, uh, uh, allows, uh, urologists to do prostatectomies, uh, you know, uh, thoracic surgeons-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … and, uh, abdominal surgeons to do minimally invasive surgeries-
Scott Hammond: Okay
Dr. Join Luh: … as well. And, you know, interestingly, not only is it a, um, great technology to have because it's a better s- service line to patients-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … but it's also a retention tool for surgeons to say, "Hey, I wanna stay in a community that can-
Scott Hammond: Right
Dr. Join Luh: … give me the technologies I need to offer the best care for my patients."
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: It's also a good recruiting tool because when new graduates, you know, come from the academic centers and they come over here and they can see, "I can practice in a rural community and have access to state-of-the-art technology that I can offer to patients," that is a point that will lure them to come to our community as
Dr. Join Luh: well.
Scott Hammond: Sure. Big selling point.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Love the place. Love the area.
Dr. Join Luh: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: They have tech.
Dr. Join Luh: Yes.
Scott Hammond: Supportive. I mean, these guys must get tremendous-
Dr. Join Luh: Right
Scott Hammond: … I would guess tremendous support once they-
Dr. Join Luh: Right
Scott Hammond: … they land.
Dr. Join Luh: Right.
Scott Hammond: Um-
Dr. Join Luh: And that's where the foundation is great-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … because, uh, you know, we, we know that health systems are all challenged with difficult financial times.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Join Luh: And the foundation is a way for the local community to say, "This is what we want-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Dr. Join Luh: … and we're gonna enable you to get this technology."
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Yeah. "We're gonna get this for the OB unit or whatever." This, this… I remember it's a cradle or a bed for babies. It, it's, "Oh, that's cool. Uh, we could buy that."
Dr. Join Luh: Yes.
Scott Hammond: Um, so la- two last questions. Uh, can you review real quick with us the sisters and how they got here
Scott Hammond: with $19
Scott Hammond: in-
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … 1918 or whatever it is?
Dr. Join Luh: Right. I think it was 60 cents.
Scott Hammond: 60 cents.
Dr. Join Luh: Which is probably, uh, uh, in today's dollars would be about $2,000.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And, and they were amazing to start this little hospital-
Dr. Join Luh: Right
Scott Hammond: … with, with nothing, and, um, these Catholic sisters that loved people and loved God and did-
Dr. Join Luh: Yes
Scott Hammond: … uh, did an amazing work and started this thing, and-
Dr. Join Luh: Mm-hmm
Scott Hammond: … um, it is, it, it is what it is, and it's g- gonna be something special even as we talk. Um-
Dr. Join Luh: Absolutely.
Scott Hammond: And lastly, my last question for you, what do you want to be remembered for, Join? Your legacy, uh, your tombstone, uh, what are we saying at your, um, your celebration of life?
Dr. Join Luh: That, that's that's a great question. Uh, um, you know, I th- I think any physician, you know, uh, you know, wants to be known as, as somebody that, uh, you know, cared for their patients and, uh, you know, we don't
Dr. Join Luh: always, um, achieve success in curing, but we always wanna achieve success in comforting patients-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Dr. Join Luh: … and reassuring them. Um, you know, I, I, I obviously, you know, I w- I wanna be known, uh, for being, you know, a, a loyal husband, father. You know, I raised three kids
Dr. Join Luh: here.
Scott Hammond: I know.
Dr. Join Luh: I still have a, a high schooler and a, and a, a middle schooler here. And, um, you know, just, uh, uh, also perhaps, um, you know, uh, um, having had, uh, uh, an interest in music, you know, I'm in a band, uh-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Dr. Join Luh: … as, as well, and so-
Scott Hammond: That's right. You're a rock and roll guy.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah, but like… Yeah, and that's all a function of being here in Humboldt.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Dr. Join Luh: You know, it probably wouldn't have happened anywhere else.
Scott Hammond: That's funny. I love it.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: What do you– do you play guitar or bass?
Dr. Join Luh: Uh, uh, rhythm guitar.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, that's right.
Dr. Join Luh: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: That's cool. Well, I'm gonna sign off and then thank you in a minute. So, uh, hey, uh, thanks for joining us, uh, this time on 100% Humboldt, and you could help me if you wanted to, if you like the show. Uh, like us, make comments, YouTube, all the, all the s- all the stuff. Um, but hey, uh, right now North Coast Journal has a Best of Humboldt, uh, under the bonus section, best podcast. We, we made the final three. What do you think of that? And you-
Dr. Join Luh: Congratulations.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, thanks. We c- and you can vote through June 30th, and we'd love your vote, and, uh, if, uh, this is a blessing to you, then you could, could say thank you back if you wanna do that. Having said that, uh, Dr. Join Luh, appreciate you.
Dr. Join Luh: Thank you.
Scott Hammond: Thank you for being on the show.
Dr. Join Luh: It was fun.
Scott Hammond: All right. Hey, we'll, we'll, we'll talk some more.
Dr. Join Luh: Sounds great.
Scott Hammond: Thanks.