The doctor is in— starting June 15
Welcome to Shelter Island. Supervisor Jim Dougherty was all smiles Tuesday afternoon as he introduced Dr. Anthonette R. Desire, who will be on duty at the Medical Center beginning June 15.
Dr. Anthonette R. Desire — she prefers to be known as Dr. Ann — will have a medical practice in the rear of the Medical Center where Dr. Peter Kelt held forth for years before moving his office to the front of the building.
On Tuesday, Supervisor Jim Dougherty signed an initial four-month contract with Dr. Desire, 41, with the expectation it would be extended long-term before it expires in October. The contract calls for NAD Medical Services — the practice Dr. Desire and her husband, Dr. Nathanael Desire, 47, operate — to take over the office on June 15 and be open five days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The doctors also have an office in Bellport.
Dr. Nathanael Desire provides services at Peconic Landing and has privileges at Eastern Long Island Hospital as well as at Mather Memorial, St. Charles and Brookhaven hospitals. He was driving across Shelter Island about a week ago and stopped to see his friend, Dr. Kelt, who told him about the need for more doctors on the Island.
A previous deal with Island Urgent Care failed to work effectively since the office wasn’t staffed on a regular basis. Although it was announced in January that a deal with Winthrop University Hospital was complete, opening the office was delayed for months. Winthrop officials at the time said they were getting the office space equipped.
“It just worked,” Dr. Desire said about how quickly she was ready to sign the lease that calls for a payment of $800 a month plus electric and fuel charges.
She is a 2003 graduate of Stony Brook University’s Medical School and completed her internship and residency in internal medicine at Stony Brook followed by a fellowship in geriatric medicine there. She currently has privileges at Mather Memorial Hospital, St. Charles and the Veterans Hospital.
Besides internal and geriatric medicine, Dr. Desire has special expertise in treating asthma, atrial fibrillation, coronary artery disease, dementia-related behavioral disorders, diabetes, and high blood pressure.
The couple, who have been married for 17 years and known one another for 22, have two children — Natalie, 6, and Nolen, 2. She’s hoping to involve her children in a camp program here this summer, but isn’t sure where the couple will settle. Her daughter is already in school and wants to stay with her friends and Dr. Nathanael Desire still has responsibilities at the Bellport office.
