The History and Philosophy of our Practice
We are a small Family Practice founded in 1961 when WP “Pete” Booras finished his internship at Duval Medical Center (now, Shands Medical Center) and started up a Family Practice in Arlington near Jacksonville University. Dr. Booras was in a group practice for a number of years before going solo in the late 1970's. He built a large and faithful following who fell in love with his excellent diagnostic skills and warmly humorous “bedside manner”. He has the remarkable ability to quickly form a deep and lasting rapport with patients of all ages, race, lifestyle and religious belief.
His oldest son, Charles, joined the practice in 1984 after finishing his Family Practice Residency at St. Vincent's Medical Center – Jacksonville as Chief Resident. They built a lovely residential-looking office at the corner of University Boulevard South and St. Cecelia Drive between Atlantic and Beach Blvd, and were in practice together until WP Booras' retirement from full-time clinical practice in 1999. “Dr. Charles” is a huge fan of his fathers style of practice and considers WP Booras to be his most respected peer and role model.
Our goal is not to be the largest Family Practice in Jacksonville, but we strive to be the best. We emphasize quality of care over quantity and believe our patients should be treated the exact same way that each and every one of us would ideally like to be treated.
This is our version of the “Golden Rule” and is a trait we have instilled in our office staff as well. We place a great deal of importance on the healing effects of a strong provider-patient rapport and always encourage our patients to participate in the decision making process. We like to give our patients the information needed to make appropriate decisions about their health care. That way they are in charge of and responsible for their health care decisions and are given expert guidance about the best potential choices available to maintain their health and prevent disease.
We strongly feel that education is, indeed, the “drug of choice” for the treatment of all health related issues.
Family Physicians treat people of all ages, from the beginning of life onward. We are trained to diagnose and manage about 75-80% of your problems. We will also know when to refer to a specialist when that problem is too complex to safely manage alone.
Our practice is entirely office-based. This is where we are most efficient and can provide the best care. We use hospital-based physicians (a so-called “Hospitalist”) at all of the area hospitals for the admission and in-patient management of our patients who require hospitalization. We enjoy a close working relationship with these physicians and are provided updates in a timely manner after our patients have been discharged from the hospital and returned to our care.
Our nation spends 95% of our healthcare dollars — over 1.2 TRILLION DOLLARS a year — on diagnosing and treating disease… yet fully half of all deaths in the United States are preventable!
The only way to truly reduce the astronomical cost of healthcare is to simply work at taking better care of ourselves. “Wellness” is more than a catchy word. It's adopting a lifestyle change to be the healthiest person you can possibly be. The goal is not merely to “add years to your life” but, more importantly, to “add life to your years”. Your Primary Care provider can help you attain better health, and you can help yourself by incorporating the wellness lifestyle found within these pages. Preventive medicine is surely the best medicine of all.
A Primary Care Provider should be the first person you turn to for your health problems whether they are physical, emotional, or a combination of both.
Office Hours
- Monday – Thursday: 8am – 12:30pm and 2pm – 6pm
- Friday: 8am – 12:30pm and 2pm – 5pm
- No weekend office hours
- A Physician is on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year
- Closed on all observed holidays
