VICKSBURG—When Randy Easterling was growing up in Long Beach, he spent summers on his grandparents' farm near Sumrall. One morning, the family discovered that his great grandmother, who lived with his grandparents, had died during the night. Because there was no phone in the house, Easterling and his grandfather drove the tractor into town to the local grocery store to call the doctor.

 

"I remember we waited for an hour or so, and a young man drove up in a car, got out with his medical bag, and after examining my great grandmother, pronounced her dead," recalled Easterling. "I was left with the impression that this person must very important. My great grandmother wasn't dead until he said she was. I also remember thinking that's something I'd like to do one day."

 

Yet Easterling's journey to becoming a doctor, and the new president of the 3,650-member Mississippi State Medical Association (MSMA), was rather circuitous.

 

"Irvin Favre, Brett's dad, was my high school football coach, and he used to kick me in the butt all the time and tell me I never would amount to anything," said Easterling, who played offensive tackle and defensive end for Long Beach High School in the late 1960s. "In fact, he said I wasn't worth a fart in a whirlwind! He was a real hard driver. He pushed people to their limit, which was good. I ended up making All Conference, so that was nice."

 

The second of four children born to Stanley, manager of the local A&P, and Johnnie, an office manager for the local five-and-dime, Easterling headed to college after graduating from high school in 1969. Hurricane Camille would strike 10 weeks later. "I remember thinking 'whew, that won't happen again,'" he said.

 

At Mississippi College, Easterling earned an undergraduate degree and also landed a wife, the former Janie Monroe of Louisville.

 

"Janie and her identical twin sister were freshman nursing students at Mississippi College in 1971, and I was the lab instructor," he said. "I could tell them apart, but I really didn't know which one I wanted to ask out. They were roommates, so one night I called their room, and decided that whichever one answered would be the lucky one. Turns out I was the lucky one, have been for 32 years! We got married right after Elvis died in 1977."

 

Easterling then earned a masters degree in counseling psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi. While working toward his PhD in counseling, Easterling had a change of heart. Why not pursue a medical career?

 

"I went back to school and did two years of undergraduate work at Mississippi State and taught while I was there," said Easterling, who earned a medical degree from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine. After working with Indianola physician Walter Rose during his third-year rotation, Easterling was sold on family medicine.

 

"Having been a psychologist, I was always very people-oriented," said Easterling. "I was really impressed with the role Dr. Rose played, not only in his patients' lives, but also in the lives of those in the community. Family physicians have traditionally been the cornerstone of communities in Mississippi. In small towns, they take care of more injuries and illnesses than people realize. The first night I was there, I delivered a baby by myself. I was the ER doctor for a month and learned a lot. I felt this was something I'd like to do."

 

Double-boarded, as a diplomate of the American Academy of Family Medicine and certified by the American Society of Addiction Medicine, Easterling is in private practice with River Region Health System and serves as medical director for Marian Hill Chemical Dependency Unit. 

 

Throughout his career, Easterling's colleagues have elected him to leadership roles in various organizations, including the University of Mississippi Medical Alumni Association, Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians, and West Mississippi Medical Society. He's a member of the Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure, an advisor to the State Tort Claims Board, and chaired the Mississippi Medical Political Action Committee (MMPAC). 

 

In his spare time, Easterling often combines business with pleasure. Janie travels with him to most medical meetings, which took the couple from Phoenix, Az., in January, to Chicago in June, where as the MSMA representative, he had a fourth row seat to hear President Obama outline his healthcare reform plan to the American Medical Association.

 

"I'd like to get physicians more involved in the political process," said Easterling. "Doctors are good about sitting around the lounge and talking about all the problems we have with governmental intervention in healthcare, and reforming the healthcare system, and tort reform. But very few understand … all of that is brought about by politics."

 

For example, Easterling said mid-afternoon on June 30, "the legislature's in session in Jackson. If they don't come up with something within the next eight hours, 600,000 Mississippians will be without healthcare tomorrow morning. There will be no Medicaid. We have a higher percentage (27 percent) of Mississippians on Medicaid than any other state. Physicians have to become more involved politically to maintain a healthcare system that's beneficial not so much to physicians, but to our patients."

 

Outside medical circles, Easterling is a board member for the Vicksburg Rotary Club, of which he is a past president, and the United Way of West Central Mississippi. For fun and because it's based in Vicksburg, he's a physician for the Miss Mississippi Scholarship Pageant.

 

Longer term, Easterling has indicated he is less inclined to complete his doctorate, and more interested in either serving on the Institutions of Higher Learning Board, and/or running for public office, maybe the state Senate.

 

Easterling has been close to the Governor's Mansion in an indirect way. His younger brother, Joe, pastor of a Presbyterian church in Thomasville, Ga., served as Gov. Haley Barbour's pastor for four years, and closed the first inauguration service.

 

Easterling's other siblings are healthcare professionals, as is his daughter, Megan, a nurse recruiter for Travel Nurse Solutions in Birmingham, Ala. His son, Matthew, earned a law degree from the University of Mississippi in May, and is preparing for the bar exam. "This fall will be the first semester I haven't written a tuition check somewhere," he joked.

 

So with ties to Southern Miss, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Mississippi College, who does Easterling root for during college football season? The University of Alabama.