Full time Oncologist for the Northeast Kingdom

Newport, VT - The face of cancer treatment is changing and evolving with the passage of every year. North Country Hospital has been treating and comforting people with cancer for more than a decade. The oncology department now has a new face - Dr. Leslie “Les” Lockridge as North Country's first ever full-time oncologist - a physician who specializes in diagnosing and treating cancer.

“We are absolutely delighted to have a full-time oncologist,” Kim Campbell said. “It will be wonderful for the community and the patients.” Campbell is the Vice President of Medical Group Operations.
“I have received a very warm welcome,” Dr. Lockridge said. “I couldn't have asked for more. But I expected that from Vermont and Vermonters.” Dr. Lockridge began work at North Country in December.

Born in Tacoma, Washington and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, Dr. Lockridge obtained his bachelors degree in biology from Indiana University in Bloomington before earning his medical degree from Chicago Medical School in North Chicago. He performed his residency in internal medicine at Norwalk Hospital in Norwalk, Connecticut. In addition, he performed his fellowship in the hematology/oncology department at the Yale-New Haven Hospital in New Haven. Dr. Lockridge also worked for three months as a physician in Zimbabwe, Africa.
He is board certified with the American Board of Internal Medicine Hematology. In addition to his training, the doctor has served as an assistant professor of medicine at the Brown University School of Medicine, and he was a clinical instructor of medicine at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. He comes to North Country from the hematology/oncology department at the Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island in Pawtucket.

“I knew that some day I wanted to move to Vermont,” Dr. Lockridge said. “Then the time became right for me to move here.” He contacted a medical recruiter to help him find an oncology position in Vermont. Although the recruiter informed him that no hospitals in the state were actively recruiting an oncologist, the recruiter knew that North Country Hospital planned to recruit for a full-time oncologist in the next couple years. In learning of Dr. Lockridge's interest in moving to the state, North Country officials interviewed him. Impressed by his credentials, and realizing that he'd be a great asset to cancer treatment along the Vermont/Quebec border region, hospital officials decided to hire him.

“We are so happy that he is here,” Katie McGreevey, RN said enthusiastically. “Having a full time oncologist is good for the community.” McGreevey is the Manager of the Oncology Department.

The staff of the Oncology Department pride themselves on providing excellent cancer treatment, including chemotherapy treatments, in their home community. Many patients find comfort in being treated as more than names, faces, and symptoms; they are treated like family, friends, and neighbors. The staff often gets to know the patient's entire family as their loved one battles the cancer. The department provides about 2,100 chemotherapy treatments each year.

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