SALISBURY — After three years, Dr. William T. Mason will resume practicing medicine in Salisbury.
Mason spent the past three years working with and training young residents in orthopedic surgery as a faculty member of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and serving as a consulting physician at the Hefner VA Medical Center.
Mason has joined Salisbury Orthopaedic Associates at 605 Grove St.
Reflecting on returning to practice in Salisbury, Mason said he has been blessed in his career.
“If you think about it, I’ve gotten the chance to have so many different kinds of experiences practicing medicine,” he said. “I’ve served my country both as a Navy doctor and by taking care of veterans. I’ve had my own private practice here in Salisbury, and I’ve worked with and helped to provide care to neighbors and friends in this community.”
Working at Wake Forest Baptist pushed him to stay current with the latest technology and keep learning, Mason said.
“I’ve enjoyed the chance to be a mentor and guide a new generation of orthopedists,” Mason said. “I’ll continue to do that and bring that energy back to the Salisbury community where I started my own private practice.”
Thirty-six years ago, Mason was a young orthopedist looking for a place to open a medical practice. He had served as a Naval doctor in Mississippi and San Diego and thought carefully about where he could build a practice and put down family roots with his wife and two young children.
“I loved my time with the Navy, and I got great training as a Navy doctor, but I knew I wanted to raise my children in a town where they could stay for more than a few years,” he said.
He chose Salisbury.
“I toured the hospital, and got to know the medical community first, but I could see right away that this was a great community – a town where people take care of one another,” he said.
A key reason that Mason has returned to Salisbury is his long-standing professional relationship with Dr. Robert “Bob” Steele.
“I am just thrilled to be coming back to this community that I love so much and to work closely with Bob Steele again,” he said.
Mason and his wife Patty have been involved in the Salisbury civic community since moving here as a family. Besides his medical practice, Mason was chairman of First Bank (previously First Union) and president of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame. He also served two terms as chief of surgery at Rowan Regional Medical Center. He has two children and four grandchildren.
“Salisbury is a town where people look after one another, and I’ve enjoyed being a part of that,” Mason said. “I’m going to keep doing my part for as long as I can.”
Mason is accepting appointments for new and former patients.