Sonoma doctor John Schafer still practicing after 56 years

At 84, family doctor is still going strong; chalks it up to exercise and Costco trail mix|

Three days a week Dr. John Schafer hops on his Vespa scooter and zips into his medical office where he puts in a full day as a family physician. Dr. Schafer is 84 years old and he’s been caring for his patients in Sonoma for since 1962.

Schafer believes that when you love your work there is no reason to retire. And if you happen to be a doctor providing a potentially life saving service, your patients are no doubt pleased that you continue to wear the white coat.

“I enjoy it too much to ever stop working. It keeps me useful is the main thing,” he said, as he checks his iPhone for messages and shows some of the latest online tools useful to the medical profession. He keeps up with modern medicine and has 56 years of experience – that’s quite a combo of professionalism.

The medical practice he shares with his doctor-partners Subhash Mishra and Daisy Manuel-Arguelles has just become part of Sonoma Valley Hospital’s group of “specialty clinics.” It will continue to be located on Perkins Street, but will be managed by the hospital.

“This allows us to focus on patient care, with less time spent on administrative matters. It also gives patients access to their health information online through the hospital’s patient portal, making it easier to view lab results and request medication,” he said.

Dr. Schafer and his wife Gwen still live in the five-bedroom home that they built in 1965 where they raised their family. The backyard pool no longer hosts the constant summer splashing it once did, but a pink swing speaks to the visits of couple’s seven grandchildren – the youngest, Lily, is 10. The refrigerator door is a collage of family photos.

Looking much less than his age, Schafer stays physically fit working out three days a week for 30 minutes with a combination of weights, an elliptical machine and a stationary bike. He eats healthy but has a favorite snack. “Costco trail mix. That’s my secret. It’s nuts and raisins and just a few M&Ms,” he says with a grin.

He still heads up to Tahoe to ski a couple of times a year, and said the only things he has wrong with him are things he did to himself – he lost the tip of his index finger to a chain saw while putting in a hardwood floor and has a bad foot from a skiing accident.

Parked in his driveway is a GEM electric vehicle that looks like something a Jetson would drive. He uses it to get around town and drives it to the office when it is too chilly for the Vespa. He sees people he knows everywhere he goes and has been the family doctor for generations of some families. “They do a better job of recognizing me than I do of them sometimes,” he said. “But once they tell me their name then I know everything about them.” Recently a patient gave him a framed photo of her four adult children – and reminded him he delivered all of them.

In the early years of his career the family doctor did it all – including delivering babies and even performing C-sections, appendectomies and hernia operations. But he gave that up when the malpractice insurance became off-the-charts expensive. Times have changed and now he leaves babies and other specialty medical practices to the specialists.

He does have some skills for which he is especially known, including being a master at cortisone shots, something he says many doctors nowadays are hesitant to do. He said he often “can tell at a glance” why his patients have made a visit to his office.

Schafer said his goal is to work forever. “I want to keep going like I’m going,” he said, as the finches feast at the birdfeeder just outside his window. Life is good.

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