(4/17/12) – McLeod Dillon is pleased to announce Dr. Benjamin Thomas Mitchell, III, has joined the Hospitalists Program. Dr. Mitchell is Board Certified in Family Medicine. He will begin seeing patients on April 28, 2012.

Dr. Mitchell received his degree in medicine from the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, in 1992. He completed a residency at Self Regional Medical Center, Greenwood, SC 1992-1995.

Dr. Mitchell is an accomplished physician with twenty years of experience. Dr. Mitchell, a native of Saluda, SC, will be relocating from Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center, Hartsville, SC, where he most recently practiced as a Hospitalist.

Dr. Mitchell enjoys the flexibility of a career as a Hospitalist and the challenges involved with caring for inpatients. "Becoming a doctor was the only thing I can ever remember desiring to be as I was growing up," said Dr. Mitchell.

"I grew up in a rural community and enjoy the small town setting of Dillon," said Dr. Mitchell. "By practicing at McLeod Dillon, the spectrum of cutting edge technology is available – an advantage of being a facility that is part of the McLeod Health system."

A Hospitalist is a medical doctor whose primary professional focus is the medical care of hospitalized patients. Hospitalists are based in the hospital and specialize in all aspects of a patient’s care from admission to discharge. Often, if a patient is under the care of a Hospitalist, they may not have a primary care physician or their primary care physician does not care for patients in a hospital setting.

Because the Hospitalist Team does not maintain a private outside practice, their time is devoted solely to caring for hospitalized patients. If a patient has a primary care physician, the Hospitalist Team will communicate directly with this physician providing routine updates and further recommendations for the patient’s continued recovery.

Highly skilled and compassionate, Dr. Mitchell looks forward to improving the health of patients in the Dillon community. "I have always treated patients with respect. A relationship of mutual respect is conducive to bettering their health," said Dr. Mitchell.

Dr. Mitchell is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

He and his wife, Stephanie, have four children. Dr. Mitchell enjoys cooking and gardening, where he spends time growing hot peppers.