New Ivy Creek doctor inspired by Holocaust survivor

Dr. Michael Kalter feels called to practice medicine.

It’s a calling that came long before medical school. It all stems from a story Kalter’s father shared with him of the Holocaust.

“My father’s family was killed in the Holocaust,” Kalter said. “My father was a survivor. When I was little, he told me what happened. It was then I decided to be a doctor. It was my wish to do some good when he had been exposed to so much bad.”

Kalter has been with Ivy Creek Healthcare since June and seeing patients primarily at Ivy Creek Family Care of Millbrook. Just because he is new to town doesn’t mean he is new to medicine. Kalter started practicing in 1984. Prior to that he was a medic and was involved in rescue. Since practicing medicine he has been over emergency services as well.

Kalter helped manage an emergency room in south Florida when he left the hectic schedule for private practice.

“When my son was born I realized I wasn’t watching him grow up, so I left,” Kalter said.

After taking a break to help care for a family member, a recruiter pointed Kalter to Elmore County. He made a phone call to Ivy Creek CEO Mike Bruce.

“We just kind of clicked,” Kalter said. “He had issues with my support of Florida State because he is a Florida man. We moved past it.”

The pair shared a love of rural settings. While Kalter has experience in large metro hospitals, he has also practiced in rural settings in Wisconsin and around Lake Okeechobee in Florida. 

Kalter has experience in internal medicine and wound care. He also was part of the first study using hyperbaric chambers to treat concussions.

At Ivy Creek, Kalter is a primary and urgent care provider. He is already seeing patients and getting referrals based on his love of veterans.

“My father was a veteran of two wars,” Kalter said. 

It is those connections Kalter likes to form with patients. He compares his role as a doctor to others with close relationships.

“What I like about rural medicine is you are like the guy,” Kalter said. “Other than a spouse or clergyman, medicine is probably about the most intimate relationship you have in life. I’m kind of a dinosaur. I like talking with my patients and getting to know them.”