Skip Beeler, M.D.: Cocoa Beach Renaissance man
by Kathy Hagood
Dr. Skip Beeler, M.D., isn’t one to shy away
from a challenge. In fact he says he gets bored if he isn’t facing an
uphill climb.
No wonder
he’s well able to juggle his role as mayor of Cocoa Beach with a
full-time job as deputy medical director at Kennedy Space Center in
addition to taking on about four 12-hour shifts a month at the emergency
room at Cape Canaveral Hospital.
Beeler also
carves out time for his family and his favorite sport, long-distance
cycling. This past August he competed in the Paris-Brest-Paris cycling
marathon as a member of the Randonneurs USA.
“I wasn’t
able to finish because of the terrible weather, but I’m glad I took
part. It was an incredible experience,” says Beeler, who completed 210
miles of the 744-mile course of grueling peaks and valleys.
Beeler says
he’ll never forget the journey, especially his side trip to cycle
through Paris along the famed avenue of the Champs-Elysees.
“It was a
bumpy ride over the cobble stones, but all I was thinking was, I’m
really here,” Beeler says.
While few
take on the rigors of long-distance cycling in the first place, Beeler’s
dedication is made even more impressive by the fact that he suffers from hemochromatosis, a hereditary disease that
results in excess iron accumulation.
Among the side effects
of hemochromatosis, when not treated, are arthritis and organ damage.
Beeler was able to diagnose his illness in time to avoid organ damage,
but not arthritis, so he uses a recumbent bike to take the strain off
his back.
“For longer distances,
the recumbent bike is a must for me,” says Beeler, who first got hooked
on long-distance cycling when he cycled the Mini Cross Florida in April
2006. Beeler trained along the hilly terrain around Eutis to get ready
for the Paris-Brest-Paris.
“I enjoy cycling around
home but cycling up and down hills is tougher and builds your
endurance,” Beeler says.
His drive to
stay challenged pointed Beeler in the direction of emergency medical
when it came time to choose his residency in 1979. The specialty was
just emerging, and he believed it would remain interesting over the long
haul. He continues to find emergency medicine fulfilling.
“Emergency
medicine is a little bit of everything. Basically you learn to treat
anyone, anytime and anywhere. You have to be able to adapt,” Beeler
says.
After his
residency in emergency medicine he served two years with the National
Health Service Corp. at Hamot Medical Center in Erie, Pa. Then in July
of 1984 Beeler and his wife, Teri, moved to Cocoa Beach.
The couple chose Cocoa Beach for a number of
reasons. Among them: Beeler’s parents were living in Jacksonville, and
he wanted to live where he could pursue his new passion, windsurfing.
Brevard County is considered one of the best
areas in the country for windsurfing. The U.S. Olympic windsurfing team
at one time trained in the Melbourne area.
“Windsurfing
was a new sport back then, and I’d gotten hooked on it on Lake Erie. But
I didn’t like the cold,” he says.
So Beeler
signed on as part of the emergency medicine staff at Wuestoff Hospital
in Rockledge. The couple bought a home in Cocoa Beach on the Indian
River Lagoon where Beeler could windsurf to his heart’s content. He
avidly pursued the sport until recent years when his arthritis compelled
him to shift his interest to cycling.
In 1986, he
and three other physicians opened the first walk-in medical clinic in
Cocoa Beach and called it Health First Medical Center. He worked shifts
there and also continued with his job at Wuestoff.
“The doc in
a box concept was becoming popular, and we saw there was a need in the
area,” Beeler says.
The group sold the successful business and
the Health First name to Cape Canaveral Hospital in 1990. The clinic
still serves the public, and the Health First health care system name
has become household word in Brevard County.
Beeler
joined the emergency medical staff at Cape Canaveral Hospital in 1993.
“I loved ER
work but the problem is that you are on call 24/7/365 days a year which
makes it difficult on your family. That gets old after awhile,” he says.
So Beeler
began to think of other options. He learned that Kennedy Space Center
had a medical staff that supported launch and landing in case of
emergency as well as the daily medical clinic needs of space center
employees. He began working with Comprehensive Health Services in 1997
and now serves as deputy medical director.
Beeler
supervises a staff of 42 as well as working as a staff physician at the
space center’s medical clinic. He’s on the rotating medical team that
mans emergency vehicles every time the Space Shuttle launches or lands.
“We get as
close as you can be for launch and landing,” he says.
Occasionally
Beeler faces an emergency medical situation at KSC. He also works
several shifts a month at Cape Canaveral Hospital’s E.R. to keep his
skills up.
His colleague in the E.R., Dr. Manley
Clodfelter Jr., M.D., calls Beeler “the consummate emergency medicine
doctor,” and says Beeler is popular with physicians, staff and patients.
“He perennially has a positive attitude
and brings good Karma with him to work. He’s known for his clinical
acumen and quick patient disposition, and has a genuine concern for
others,” Clodfelter says.
Even with Beeler’s multiple roles,
including mayor of Cocoa Beach, Beeler always seems relaxed and low key, Clodfelter says.
Beeler had
his first brush with politics when he was encouraged by city leaders to
run for Cocoa Beach city council during the 2000 special election.
“I’d never
thought of serving on the city council before, but I did care deeply
about my community, so I decided to go for it,” Beeler says.
Beeler won the election and got deeply
involved in city government. After growing frustrated by the actions of
Mayor Janice Scott, including her attempt to block the expansion of Cape
Canaveral Hospital, Beeler decided to run for mayor in 2002.
“I didn’t like her style of leadership and
frankly I thought I could do a better job,” Beeler says.
The community gave him a firm nod with 69
percent voting in his favor.
Cocoa Beach City Manager Charles Billias says
he has been impressed by Beeler’s leadership and dedication to the city.
“The city
has come a long way since he’s been in office. He really listens and
takes time to understand what’s going on in the city,” Billias says.
Billias says
that Beeler and current council members in general have made it possible
for the city’s small staff to accomplish a great deal for the city of
12,500.
“We have to
have the freedom to get creative, and they give it to us,” Billias says.
Beeler hopes to stay on as mayor until the
planned new municipal center is built. Since he’s been serving on the
council, he’s been glad to see the city pool renovated, a new skate park
built and public works improvements made.
“City government moves glacially. But the
city is moving forward, and it’s great to be a part of that,” he says.
He was disappointed that his suggested beach
smoking ban wasn’t adopted and that Cocoa Beach wasn’t able to annex the
county area from 16th Street to Patrick Air Force Base.
“But you can’t win them all,” he says.
Billias has observed that Beeler doesn’t let
the ups and downs and frustrations of the office get to him.
“He’s basically even-keeled. He doesn’t get
shaken,” Billias says.
Beeler got a taste of state politics when he
served as “doctor for the day” for the State Legislature in Tallahassee
one day each year from 2001 to 2006.
Beeler, a
Republican, says he’s considered running for state office but isn’t
planning on it any time soon because it would take too much time away
from his family life and medical career. What about in the future?
“I’m not
planning on it, but never say never,” he says with a smile.