Elkins, West Virginia is a small, deeply conservative Appalachian town, predominantly “white and rural.” PRI declares it “Trump country.” But Dr. Chalak Berzingi has found the folks of Elkins, well, welcoming to this doctor who hails from Iraq. “I have been treated from day one, only with respect.”
Dr Berzingi is a cardiologist who has a close bond with his patients. “I’m connected to the community. I love the people. I love the place.” He adds that the sentiment is felt both ways. “They come to me in the first place because they have a concern about their health and they want somebody who listens and understands. I pay attention and listen and do my best, and take [their concerns] into my heart. Over time, that builds a bond.”
On conservative policies, like Trump’s Muslim ban, Dr. Berzingi says that though he tries not to talk about politics, his patients have gone out of their way to be supportive of him. “Last Tuesday, one of my patients came to my office,” recounts the doctor. “And he said, ‘I just want to let you know that … a large number of my fellow citizens went out and protested the travel ban just because we feel this probably will touch people like you.'”
Dr Berzingi says he was drawn to West Virginia because it was medically underserved. “A small population is scattered over a large area. The resources are not available. … That’s how I see my own country back home, where, if you can believe it, we didn’t have heart catheterizations until the early 2000s. In Elkins, when I went down there and still [to this day], they didn’t have the sophisticated and advanced medical procedures that these populations badly needed.”
The doctor continues, “What made us come to the United States in the first place and go down to Elkins was a sense of belonging and citizenship. … In Elkins, I found a place that provides me with fulfillment.”
