Atlantic Gastroenterology

Dr. Rae Fountain On Finding Her Niche

Dr. Raetta “Rae” Fountain grew up in Alabama and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Birmingham Southern College, before heading to medical school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She moved to Greenville for a residency with East Carolina University (ECU) School of Medicine, unsure of what field she wanted to specialize in or what the future might hold. It was here that she discovered her passion for gastroenterology and met Dr. Thomas Sturgis, with whom she would later partner in practice at Atlantic Gastroenterology. 

Rae recalls how she discovered that the far from glamorous field of gastroenterology was for her. Gastroenterology is the study of the function and diseases of the digestive tract which includes the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon, rectum, pancreas, gallbladder, bile ducts, and liver, and has a fundamental impact on your quality of life. 

“I was undecided in my third year of residency, and my mentor and advisor at the time was a female gastroenterologist. She encouraged me to do an elective rotation with them. And I did, and I fell in love with it! Then they had an opening for a GI fellow, and she encouraged me to apply for it, so I did. It wasn’t something that I planned on when I first got into medicine. I thought I was going to do something else, but I never really found my niche until then.” 

As for forging a friendship with Dr. Sturgis, Rae explains, “We’ve been in practice together now for 17 years, but we first met in 1992 when I moved to Greenville as a resident and he came to Greenville to join the faculty at ECU. He was one of my professors during my residency training, and then when I went through my fellowship, he left and went into private practice, and I joined another practice. As the years went by, we continued to keep in touch. I was living in Alabama and he called me and said, ‘I’m thinking of opening my own practice. Would you be interested in joining me?’” 

Coincidentally, Rae and husband Wyatt, who grew up in Tarboro, had been considering a move back to Greenville to help with his family’s business. “I said yes and joined the practice early on, in its first year., It’s really worked out well,” says Rae. 

Thomas Sturgis earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Villanova University in Pennsylvania, followed by a MD degree from Rutgers Medical School in New Jersey. He completed his residency in internal medicine and was chief resident at Overlook Hospital in New Jersey. After completing a fellowship in Gastroenterology at Ohio State University, he spent four years teaching and serving as Chief of Gastroenterology at ECU before entering private practice and founding Atlantic Gastroenterology, located in the heart of Greenville’s medical corridor. 

Atlantic Gastroenterology’s Endoscopy Center is an outpatient facility specializing in colorectal cancer screening and the treatment of various diseases involving the digestive tract. According to Rae, 99% of the procedures they offer such as colonoscopy, flexible sigmoidoscopy, and upper GI endoscopy, are performed right there at the center. Only occasionally do they have to treat a patient at the hospital. The practice is home to 20 employees ranging from an office manager, clerical and billing staff, to nurses, a nurse anesthetist, and endoscopy technicians.  

The practice first connected with TowneBank when their previous bank closed, and Wes Barnes, senior vice president and commercial banker, joined TowneBank and reached out to them. “Wes told us about TowneBank’s philosophy, and it was what we were looking for. It was so easy to make the transition over to Towne. It was a big undertaking with so many factors like Medicare, commercial payers, and employees, but Towne has done an amazing job supporting our staff. We recently signed up with Towne Financial Services Group for wealth management, and most of our insurance is done through Towne. It’s nice to have everything under one roof and we’re glad we switched to Towne.” 

Rae says her favorite part about her work is her interactions with her patients.  “I really value my patients and being able to have that relationship that builds over time. Some I’ve been taking care of for years so continuing to help them is very rewarding to me.”  

Two of Rae’s daughters have chosen to follow in her footsteps and are currently enrolled in medical school. “They’re actually in the Caribbean at American University of Antigua,” says Rae. “They are two and a half years apart in age, but my oldest got her master’s degree, so they applied at the same time. They’re in their second year, both in the same class. I’m very proud of them. I’m excited and happy for them, and can’t wait to see what their future holds.” 

For more information on Atlantic Gastroenterology, visit AtlanticGastroNC.com.