Dr. John Berg retires after 49-1/2 years

While he would have preferred to go out on his own terms, Dr. John Berg has no regrets about his 49-1/2 years serving the area as a physician.

Dr. Berg retired last week from the clinic he founded in 1972.

"I had planned to practice until I died," said Dr. Berg, who first came to the area to work with Dr. Alfred Lehrer in Montgomery. "I’m not dying, but my legs can’t take it. There’s too much pain," he said. Dr. Berg has had problems with neuropathy in his legs for a number of years.

He began working with Dr. Lehrer, a cousin of his mother, in 1969. He left that practice and opened Parkview Medical Clinic in August, 1972.

Why New Prague?

"When I left the practice in Montgomery I had a no-compete clause, and New Prague was the closest town," he said. "I already knew the hospital. I liked the community and its location - it was relatively close to Minneapolis where I grew up. I already had a lot of patients in New Prague who were coming to see me in Montgomery, so it seemed like a good spot," he said.

In the clinic’s second year, he brought on two associates, Dr. Carl Burkland and Dr. Michael Wilcox. Dr. Wilcox left the clinic in 1993 and Dr. Burkland practiced until retiring several years ago. Other doctors have come and gone to Parkview over the years, including Dr. Berg’s sons, Mark and Dan. Dr. Mark left Parkview in 2016 for a job researching, practicing and teaching in the Twin Cities, and Dr. Dan continues to practice at Parkview. Other physicians at Parkview are Dr. Michael O’Rourke, Dr. Jean Craig and Dr. Heather Hamernick.

He said working with his sons has been a rewarding experience.

Dr. Berg has seen plenty of changes in medicine during his nearly 50 years in practice.

"The biggest change is the way you treat patients. There’s less hospital work for doctors today. Back then, you spent much more time in the hospital, now most of the interaction with patients is in a clinical setting," he said. "Everything is more computerized… informational technology has become so important in medicine, both in taking care of the patients and managing the practice."

The biggest change for Dr. Berg came in 2004, when he and his partners............

To see more on this story pick up the January 4, 2018 print edition of The New Prague Times or the Montgomery Messenger.

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