HANFORD -- College seemed like the worst possible alternative to Douglas Cook when he graduated from high school in Belvidere, Ill., in 1987. His passion was action - extreme sports such as motocross and stand-up jet ski racing.

So he started a pool business in sunny Arizona instead, diving into pools with scuba gear for hands-on service and using his time off for the sports he loved. It seemed to be an ideal lifestyle for him.

But something wasn't right.

"I couldn't sleep and I couldn't eat because I knew I wasn't doing what I was supposed to do," he said.

As a newly converted Christian, Cook believed he should use the abilities God gave him to help others. And he knew that the first step toward that would have to be the thing he least wanted to do: attend college.

After weeks of resisting, he gave in to the call and turned to learning ... for 13 years, graduating magna cum laude from Rockford College in Illinois, earning his M.D. from Loma Linda University and completing his surgical residency training through East Tennessee State University.

And now Kings County residents reap the benefits of his decision. General surgeon Douglas Cook, M.D., and his wife, Tammy, moved to Hanford in December. He started a practice in Hanford on Jan. 2 after joining the Consolidated Medical Staff of Central Valley General Hospital and Hanford Community Medical Center.

Hanford was his first choice for many reasons, he said. "I love the outdoors, especially the mountains, and the California warmth." He also wanted to perform surgeries at an Adventist Health hospital because of the network's focus on whole-person care. "I want to provide a whole-person ministry through physical, spiritual and emotional well-being," he said.

Dr. Cook enjoys meeting and talking with patients and has great empathy for them, he said. "I plan to communicate with my patients, cut through the confusing medical language and treat patients as I would treat myself and my family." His services will include gall bladder, appendix, hernia and thyroid procedures, among many others.

Dr. Cook's new practice helps to fill a serious need for surgeons in Kings County, said David Glossbrenner, M.D., vice president of medical affairs for the hospitals, who helped to bring him to Hanford. "Recruiting a general surgeon is always a challenge in Central California. We are truly fortunate to have a physician such as Dr. Cook select Hanford because of how his skills fit our greatest needs and his personal mission so closely matches the mission of the hospital."

Dr. Cook is accepting new patients. He may be reached at 559-584-2759, and his office is in Suite 37 on the third floor of the Kerr Outpatient Center, 470 N. Greenfield Ave. in Hanford. He is in a practice with general surgeons Y. Lenny Spivak, M.D., and Calvin Schuster, M.D.

(Jan. 7,2007)