L+M Physician Friday -- Dr. Steven Johnson

The typical businessman’s tie, with conservative stripes and muted tones, doesn’t quite suit Dr. Steven Johnson.

This primary care physician prefers his neckwear wild and colorful, full of birds, fishes, animals, hot air balloons and Looney Tunes characters.

“I probably have 100 ties, including some I received as gifts from patients,” Johnson says. “Some patients say they look forward to seeing which one I’ll be wearing when they come in.”

It’s that slightly quirky style – exotic ties and tropical fish mobiles swirling from the ceiling of his office – that seem to endear Dr. Johnson to his patients, many of whom have been coming to see him for their medical care for decades.

Patients, in fact, have been known to bring cookies and other treats for the office staff at holiday times, and some patients send post cards to the office when they’re on vacation.

Johnson explains the nature of his work this way:

“The frustrating parts of my job are all outside of the exam room,” he says. “The patients are fun. You get to know them. Each one is a little mystery. It’s like detective work each time someone comes in with a complaint or a problem. And sometimes people feel better just talking about things.”

Johnson also relates well with patients in southeastern Connecticut because he, too, is a “local boy.” He grew up in Westerly, RI, a self-proclaimed beach bum who spent years as a lifeguard at Misquamicut Beach. He studied hard, however, and went on to Yale University for his undergraduate work before going to medical school at Brown University.

After a residency in Northridge, CA, Johnson spent two years working in Fayetteville, NC, for the National Health Service Corps, but this local boy came home in 1986 to begin practicing family medicine in New London.

Johnson admits that his views on healthcare today are somewhat “old school,” and part of that means making almost daily trips from his Shaw’s Cove office to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital to visit his patients who have been admitted for care. His patients range in age from newborns to those in their 90s.

“Although I don’t manage their inpatient care, I still go to see them every day,” he says. “The hospitalists even made special ‘sticky notes’ for me so I can leave suggestions or advice at the patient’s bedside. But even if I don’t do anything, I just go in and say hello.”

Dr. Johnson is also “old school” in his belief that it is important for people to have a primary care doctor – someone who can coordinate their care in an era when medicine is highly specialized.

“Rather than leaving the heart to the cardiologist and the lungs to the pulmonologist and the diabetes to the endocrinologist, I try to tie it all together,” he said. “It’s holistic in the old sense of the word. I try to see the whole patient.”

Dr. Johnson says he practices family medicine “because I can’t think of anything else to do,” which is clearly a joke, as he has many hobbies, including racquetball, swimming, basketball and kayaking.

“I’m kind of a jock,” he adds.

When it comes to kayaking, “I like to put the kayak in at Barn Island (in Stonington),” he says. “There’s a boat launch there, and it’s a half an hour kayak out to Napatree Point. If you go around Napatree to the ocean side, it can be kind of rough on some days, but if you go around on the bay side, you can pull your kayak up on the beach and walk into Watch Hill for lunch. It makes for a great day.”

Perhaps the best way to sum up Dr. Johnson’s interests is to take a close look at the license plate covers on the car he drives.

“The back license plate cover of my car says, ‘I’d rather be playing racquetball,’” he says. “But the front license plate cover says ‘Everyone needs a family physician.’”

To learn more about Dr. Johnson, click here.