All great places have one thing in common: great people.
The allure of big-city medical programs and hospitals would be hard to resist for any young, ambitious doctor. And Peoria, at first glance, may not seem like an obvious choice to hedge all one’s bets. But for Drs. Edmundo Martinez and Bindu Patel, a husband-and-wife medical duo, it’s been a winning hand. Here, they found opportunity—and a whole lot more.
Their story mirrors that of many young doctors: trying to find an apt balance between the potential to fulfill extraordinary career aspirations and the ingredients for a place to build a life.
“We knew we needed kind of a rare combination,” Dr. Patel says, reflecting on the journey. “Higher up academic positions, a big city, family friendly.”
A California and Chicago native respectively, that journey Dr. Patel—Bindu—shares with Dr. Martinez (who prefers “Ed”) began in medical school together at the University of Illinois in Urbana. In their second year, they were both assigned rotations in Peoria, where friendship became romance.
Bindu left for Phoenix to complete her residency, feeling a pull to go back west (“It’s hard to take the California out of a person,” she laughs). Ed, Illinois in his blood, remained in Peoria, both because of his passion for OSF Children’s Hospital of Illinois, but also, as he says, it appealed to his “laid back” lifestyle.
Through residency, they became committed to their future and a family. After an intermission for fellowships in St. Louis, and welcoming their daughter, they again weighed pro versus con between the industry mire of a major metropolis or the roots they’d laid in the River City. To hear them talk now, it sounds like the choice was easy.
“When you're here, you see it, and you experience it, you really realize how nice it is here.”
“It just made sense with the kind of life we wanted,” Bindu says, smiling.
Of course, one might not peg Peoria for a healthcare hub right off. But, in fact, it’s one of the top 10 in Illinois, employing nearly 30,000 professionals. It’s got a number one facility in patient-centered care, one of three campuses that comprise the nation’s largest medical school, and is home to the world’s largest simulation and healthcare engineering center.
And it’s this unique mix of big-city resources and the subsequent small-town accessibility that attracts residents like Ed and Bindu.
“Peoria just does it right,” says Ed, Bindu nodding. “It’s just that hustle you might get up in Chicago or bigger cities that you don’t have to deal with here.”
Which is not to say there isn’t plenty to keep the two busy. In addition to duties as attending physicians in Peoria’s robust healthcare system, they also have three little kids. The rich local offering of outdoor activities, seasonal festivals, and restaurants are part of their day-to-day, a perfect foil to a subdued home life, enjoying cooking and gardening, or quiet nights in.
They also manage weekend travel at least once a month, taking advantage of the convenience of the Peoria International Airport, or even modest road travel to Bloomington, St. Louis, and Chicago. With everything so accessible, they try not to forget about opportunities available outside the immediate area.
It would be easy to think that these modest charms Ed and Bindu have come to embrace come at the expense of big-picture career trajectories. But, in fact, they believe, in many ways, Peoria’s special alchemy provided them with circumstances that could only have conspired here.
“Our academic system. Our hospital? It’s huge. It’s just a small city,” Ed says, Bindu sharing the sentiment. “And you experience it, you realize how nice it is here…”
“I just don’t know if we would have gotten this somewhere else.”
Greater Peoria Q&A with bindu patel and ed martinez
One word to describe Peoria: Bindu: Gem, Ed: Nature
Favorite season in Peoria: Bindu: Fall
Favorite annual event in Peoria: Bindu: Red White & Boom, Ed: Morton Pumpkin Festival
Favorite local business: Bindu: Intuition, Ed: Tanners Orchard
Advice for someone moving to Peoria: Bindu: Look for events, there’s so much to do. You just have to look for it!; Ed: Utilize the websites and discover all the events, community calendars and listings.
HERE, YOU GET TO BE MORE.
