‘Dr. David’ Leaving St. Vincent, Planning to Join Baptist Health

Dr. David Lipschitz, the high-profile geriatrician, will be leaving The Longevity Center at St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center at the end of this month and plans to join Baptist Medical Center.

A Feb. 14 letter to Longevity Center patients from Dr. James Tanner, St. Vincent’s chief medical officer, describes Lipschitz as "a visionary leader" and says he will be leaving the center "to pursue other interests."

Lipschitz told ArkansasBusiness.com that there had been no conflicts with St. Vincent and that he was grateful for "everything they’ve done for me." But Baptist, where he has not yet signed a contract, seems to offer more "entrepreneurial" opportunities, Lipschitz said.

Baptist Health spokesman Mark Lowman confirmed that the company had been in talks with Lipschitz, who "approached us to see if there could be a relationship."

Lipschitz said he was planning several trips after leaving St. Vincent on Feb. 29. He plans to start seeing patients on a part-time basis on March 19 and to be back to full-time work in July.

Before joining St. Vincent in summer 2008, Lipschitz was chairman of the Donald W. Reynolds Department of Geriatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and director of the Reynolds Institute on Aging.

Lipschitz has been a frequent television commentator, work that he says remains important to him, and writes a regular column on aging for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.