JOHNSTON, R.I. (WPRI) — Dr. Vincent D’Alessandro first opened up his Johnston practice on Nov. 22, 1963.
It was the same day U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
D’Alessandro told 12 News times were much different back then.
“There was no [pediatrician] out here,” D’Alessandro recalled. “My practice built up pretty quickly.” D’Alessandro, now 92 years old, has seen thousands of patients over his 62-year career.
But now, he said it’s time for him to hang up his stethoscope for good. D’Alessandro said it’s been difficult winding down his practice, especially during his last appointments with his patients.
“What’s touching to me is the [patients] who’ve come in here crying because they have to leave,” he said.
D’Alessandro told 12 News he’s going to miss not only his current patients, but his former patients as well.
“It’s like watching your own children grow up,” he said. His so-called “resume” of patients over the years is quite impressive.
“I’ve had quite a few patients who became doctors, a couple of politicians,” he said. “I’ve also had a couple of Major League Baseball players.”
D’Alessandro’s patients also include 12 News assignment manager Anita Baffoni, chief photojournalist Corey Welch and his brother, photojournalist Ryan Welch.
“It’s really nice to see them develop from a crying little kid into a funny kid and then from a young adult into a thriving adult,” he said. “I’ve had patients end up in all different kinds of occupations.” D’Alessandro said he’s going to miss his “daily adventures” on the job.
“I have never regretted having to go to work,” D’Alessandro said. “I think that’s the best thing you can say about any profession.”
D’Alessandro will never forget the countless house calls he made early in his career.
“I was on the road an awful lot in those days,” he recalled. “It was interesting because you had the chance to see how patients lived — you could really get to know families and understand their situations.” He specifically remembers making frequent house calls in the middle of the night.
“I’d be in bed at one, two o’clock in the morning, and if a kid had a fever, then I’d go make a house call,” he said. D’Alessandro hasn’t made a house call in a long time, which he attributes to “the way medicine has changed” over the years.
“House calls were inefficient because of the time it took to make a house call,” D’Alessandro explained. “You could’ve seen five patients in the office as opposed to one patient.” Though the decision to retire wasn’t an easy one to make, D’Alessandro said “it was just time.”
“I didn’t want to stay until I lost my wits,” he said, adding that some of his patients often joked that he would work until he was 100 “just so he could say that he did.”
“I never thought I would work until this age,” he added. “When I was a kid, 65 was the age that everybody quit. They would retire, and two years later they would be dead.” D’Alessandro officially retired and closed his Atwood Avenue practice on Friday.
