Small-Town Doctor Leaves Big Legacy

After a legendary career that spanned 33 years, Kevin Roberts, M.D., has retired from ChristianaCare Primary Care at Woodstown in New Jersey. Dr. Roberts has cared for generations of Woodstown residents and mentored a new generation of health care providers who will follow in his footsteps.

Committed to the health of a small town – Woodstown has a population of 3,400 people – Dr. Roberts embodied ChristianaCare’s values of love and excellence, said his colleagues.

“He did everything for the community and his patients,” said Beth Timberman, RN, who has worked with Dr. Roberts for two decades. “He’s a world-class family doctor who could have practiced anywhere, but chose Woodstown, where he made all the difference to so many families. We will carry on that legacy.”

He treated infants through elderly members of the community, up to five generations of the same family. Colleagues said Dr. Roberts – “Kevin” to his patients and staff – spent many a long day treating patients, not stopping until the last one was seen, which was often at 10 p.m. “Bring ‘em in,” he’d say.

Dually certified in Family Medicine and Sports Medicine, Dr. Roberts served as physician for eight school districts, a skilled nursing facility and a local manufacturing company. He prepared his colleagues for the future by introducing evidence-based medicine through innovations such as a patient-centered medical home and the teamlet model, which is used throughout ChristianaCare today to ensure seamless patient care.

Amanda Deal, D.O., is succeeding Dr. Roberts. “I deeply admire the way he practiced,” she said. “He was truly a community-based physician, acting as a small-town doctor, being there for patients when they needed him. And we will continue to provide the kind of care he instilled in us.”

But first, his colleagues and the Woodstown community planned a secret send-off.

February 12 was to be Dr. Roberts Day.

Ushered in by fire trucks, ambulances, a car parade stretched nearly a mile, with 400 vehicles. Patients waved signs of gratitude as they passed by the Woodstown practice, where the guest of honor and his family gathered under a hovering news helicopter that captured footage of hundreds of grateful supporters. Wearing a mask in keeping with COVID-19 precautions, Dr. Roberts greeted every one of them.

The New Jersey General Assembly honored Dr. Roberts with a proclamation that highlighted the exceptional care he provided over three decades.

The town crier – a patient of Dr. Roberts since the age of five – read a second proclamation declaring February 12 as Dr. Kevin Roberts Day in Woodstown Borough.

“I loved my patients. I loved my staff,” Dr. Roberts said. “I loved going to work every day. It has really been a joy.”

In Dr. Roberts’s last team meeting, Dr. Deal led the group and there was great participation from other staff members. Dr. Roberts stood back, observing how ready they were to lead, to educate, to communicate and to care. “Now I can leave,” he said.

Learn more about primary care at ChristianaCare or make an appointment at 302-777-0643.