Stepping down

Jun. 26—HIGH POINT — Were it not for the persistence of another High Point neurologist, Dr. Keith Miller might still be practicing in Buffalo.

Instead, Miller migrated south to ply his trade, and Buffalo's loss was High Point's gain. Today, nearly 35 years later, Miller stands on the brink of retirement — his last day will be Friday — as he hangs up his stethoscope after a long, distinguished career as a neurologist in High Point and Thomasville.

"I've been kicking around the idea of retirement for a long time, but I kept kicking the can down the road," the 65-year-old High Point physician says. "Initially, I had the idea to retire early, but I wasn't ready mentally — I felt like I still had a lot of miles left on me. Now seems like the right time, though."

Miller grew up thinking he would become a doctor, inspired by an uncle — with a doctorate in organic chemistry — who used to bring Miller science experiments to play with.

"That kind of whetted my appetite," Miller recalls. "Then I found out I had an aptitude for math and science, and this is the path I chose."

An unexpected set of circumstances, coupled with the persistence of the late Dr. Jim Johnson, a well-known neurologist here, led Miller to High Point in the late 1980s.

First, after graduating from the State University of New York's Buffalo School of Medicine, Miller had wanted to pursue an ophthalmology residency, but the program lost its accreditation, so he opted for a neurology residency instead. After his residency, which was also in Buffalo, he completed a fellowship in electroencephalography (EEG) and epilepsy in the neurology department at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Then he headed right back to Buffalo, planning to work for the practice he had trained in — and he even went so far as to buy a house there.

In the meantime, though, a couple of professional headhunters called, and Miller considered a couple of neurology practices outside of Buffalo. One was in Philadelphia, and the other was High Point's Johnson Neurological Clinic, operated by Dr. Jim Johnson.

"Jim really wanted me to come here because of my EEG background," Miller says. "He wanted to develop an EEG school here where we would train technicians — there were only 17 EEG programs in the country at that time — and he thought I was the ideal candidate to do that, so he pursued me."

When Miller hesitated, Johnson not only increased his salary offer, he even agreed to reimburse Miller for the down payment he had made on a house in Buffalo. Miller and his wife, Ellen, moved to High Point in June 1988, and he began practicing here on July 1.

The EEG school didn't last, but Miller did ... for 34 years.

Although Miller only worked with Johnson for about 2 1/2 years before Johnson's death in 1991, Miller says he adopted three primary traits from his mentor — being able, being affable and being available.

"Jim Johnson was a great mentor of how to run a practice," Miller says. "Those things are truly what he did."

Miller, in turn, tried to run his practice the same way. Through his career, he developed a reputation not only for being a top-notch physician but also for being prompt and having a sense of humor, occasionally breaking the ice with his patients by telling his self-admitted "stupid Dad jokes."

In his 34 years of practice, Miller says, one of the biggest advances in neurology was the availability of MRI technology.

"MRI scanning for neurology is essential for multiple sclerosis, neck pain, back pain, epilepsy, finding strokes, small tumors — it revolutionized neurology," he says. "And from a therapeutic standpoint, there are a number of new medications that we didn't have when I started."

Miller has worked for three institutions since coming to High Point — Johnson Neurological Clinic from 1988 to 2011, UNC Regional Physicians Neuroscience Center from 2011 to 2018, and his current practice, Novant Health Neurology and Sleep in Thomasville. He also served as chief of staff at what was then High Point Regional Hospital and chairman of the planning committee for the hospital's board of trustees.

His little black medical bag, though? It's the same one he has had since he began medical school in 1979 ... and it shows.

"That bag has seen a lot — it's been through a lot," Miller says with a chuckle. "It's like a soldier's war wounds — you know he's been through some stuff."

Now, though, Miller looks back on a satisfying career, and he looks forward to his retirement, which will allow him more time to travel, read and spend time with his grandchildren.

"I'm retiring on my terms," he says, "and I'm looking forward to it."

jtomlin@hpenews.com — 336-888-3579

jtomlin@hpenews.com — 336-888-3579