Making a Mark in Medicine

Excerpt from Against The Odds: Jeff Zollinger's Incredible Life In Medicine - Chapter 3

By Jeremiah Kalb

Dr. Zollinger and Mary found themselves in a nail-biting predicament at the security checkpoint of Jorge Chávez International Airport in Lima, Peru. 

They had traveled to this vibrant country with life-saving medical equipment. The future of countless newborns and mothers depended on them.

They felt anxious as the stern-faced transportation security officer looked up from the x-ray baggage scanner. Security was bustling with a cacophony of voices, and the officer’s stoic demeanor only added to the tension.

The contents of the Zollinger’s luggage were indispensable for the life-saving class they were scheduled to teach the following day. Among the equipment were simplified bag-valve-mask devices and teaching aids, all donated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. These tools promised better survival rates for newborns and mothers in underprivileged regions.

Their luggage was opened, further examined, and a brief conversation unfolded. 

“We are retaining these goods,” the officer explained coldly. 

South American countries like Peru fear the goods will be sold on the open market instead of donated, for which they would not receive taxes on the goods. 

Dr. Zollinger needed to persuade them to give their equipment back immediately.

Filled with a sense of urgency, he laid out their mission to the officer, emphasizing the importance of the equipment. 

He explained that thousands of lives hung in the balance, and the training they were scheduled to provide the following day would empower local medical staff to save countless infants and mothers in the future. He pleaded for compassion, knowing that any delay could spell death for the individuals he and Mary had pledged to help save.

The officer, after listening intently, glanced at the goods and then back at Dr. Zollinger. She saw the doctor's dedication to his cause and a glimmer of hope for future Peruvians. This was not a mere traveler seeking a favor; this was a man with a purpose.

A tense silence hung in the air, but then, like the parting of storm clouds, the officer’s stern expression softened, and she broke down in tears. With a quiver, she said, “Dr. Zollinger, you have a noble mission. I understand the urgency. Your goods are cleared.”

Dr. Zollinger’s eyes glistened with gratitude as he thanked the officer. 

The Zollinger’s have traveled to South America more than 75 times on volunteer teams from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and taught lifesaving procedures for babies and mothers since 2004.

“When you go outside the country, nobody has anything up to date and sophisticated like here in the United States. They often don’t have ventilators. It’s a tough situation to be in.” 

Some years ago, Zollinger’s organization teamed up with the American Academy of Pediatrics and formulated a simplified version of neonatal resuscitation taught in third-world countries.  

“It involves using just a bag and mask,” he says. “About 99 and 44/100% of the time, you have a baby that is not breathing after birth, so you give them ventilation with positive pressure. This wakes them up and gets them breathing relatively easily. Simple measures and very little money.” 

Each bag and mask runs about $25, is reusable, and saves thousands of babies' lives.

Mothers in these third-world countries need life-saving interventions, too.

“We teach about pre-eclampsia and eclampsia and how to handle that,” Zollinger says. “It's shocking the number of mothers who bleed to death in these areas.”

Postpartum hemorrhages can be managed by giving Pitocin and Cytotec the second the birth attendant clamps the cord. These drugs help the uterus contract after birth and prevent excess bleeding.

Pre-eclampsia typically emerges after 20 weeks of pregnancy and is characterized by high blood pressure and damage to vital organs, such as the liver and kidneys. If left untreated, it can progress to eclampsia, a condition marked by seizures, which can endanger both the mother and the unborn child. 

“We are trying to make it so every baby born into the world is attended to by a trained birth attendant to help save them and their mothers.” 

Back home in the United States, over the past 44 years, Dr. Zollinger’s clinic has become a place of solace and healing for generations of patients. 

His waiting room has been filled with expectant mothers and anxious fathers-to-be. The doctor’s deliveries number in the thousands. Some mothers have traveled as far as Denmark and Saudi Arabia to be attended to by Zollinger. 

Many other patients have been hardworking individuals seeking relief from the burdens of stress, high blood pressure, the occasional flu, the “infamous” earache, and even one mystery ailment of biblical proportions that we will visit in a moment.  

Zollinger could have practiced anywhere, but there is no place like home.

“I came back to Rexburg to be like Dr. Rigby,” Zollinger says.

When he first returned, there were only general practitioners in Rexburg. 

Dr. Zollinger completed many procedures that family practice doctors do not perform today, like bowel resection, cholecystectomies, hysterectomies, appendectomies, tonsillectomies, C-sections, and setting bones.  

His early practice often involved dealing with complex cases and making tough decisions. 

“If I thought I was getting beyond my knowledge, I didn’t hesitate to call one of my colleagues to help me,” he says. 

For ten years, he’s occasionally consulted with his daughter, a triple board-certified radiologist. “I can call her anytime and ask questions,” Zollinger says. 

Today, Zollinger, a family practitioner, is considered to be the cornerstone of healthcare, a versatile and trusted healthcare provider who offers continuous, personalized care for patients of all ages. 

He diagnoses, treats, and prevents various medical conditions while emphasizing well-being and maintaining lasting patient relationships.

One of the most memorable cases he ever attended was identifying a rare condition mentioned 68 times in the Bible. 

“Dr. Passey called me down to look at this guy’s rash,” Zollinger recalls. 

As Dr. Zollinger began to examine the patient, he noticed the telltale signs on the gentleman’s skin. His hands bore patches of hypo-pigmented, reddish-brown discoloration. 

The good doctor asked him to extend his arms, scrutinizing the raised nodules on his skin, marred by sensory loss. His fingers were damaged, unable to feel the gentlest touch.

Zollinger’s gloved fingers continued their examination, palpating the enlarged nerves around the patient's wrists and elbows, feeling the spongy, thickening tissues beneath his skin. The patient’s eyes, filled with uncertainty and fear, never left Dr. Zollinger’s face.

“I saw many people like this in Mexico,” he says. 

The doctor had a strong hunch they were dealing with a disease virtually forgotten in modern times. But what would his colleague think?

“Blaine, this rash patient of yours,” Zollinger began. “I think I know what is ailing this poor soul.”

“Hit me with it,” Blaine said.

“I think he has leprosy,” Zollinger replied, clearing his throat.

A long pause was followed by thunderous laughter.

“Get out of town, Jeff,” the more senior doctor chuckled, gently punching Zollinger on the shoulder. 

“I’m dead serious.”

“Dead serious, huh?”

“Yes. In fact, I’m so certain, I’ll bet you a lunch the biopsy returns positive,” smiled Zollinger.

“You got yourself a bet. Let’s just see what the Infectious Disease guy says.” 

Dr. Passey made the phone call. More laughter followed until the two professionals came to their senses.

A biopsy was ultimately ordered, which later confirmed Mycobacterium leprae, the infectious bacterial agent of leprosy.

Zollinger had saved the day, and fortunately for this patient, modern medicine had come a long way in managing leprosy, and with early detection, there was hope for effective treatment.

It’s cases like this and many others that have provided Zollinger a fulfilling and satisfying life in medicine.

Between his patient loads at the clinic, he’s logged countless shifts in the Emergency Room at Madison Memorial Hospital over the years. 

He currently serves as the Rexburg-Madison County Ambulance Services Director and has done so for the past 20 years. He’s equipped with satellite communications to receive calls anywhere in the world. 

“I’m tasked with helping them make life or death decisions on transporting patients,” he says. 

Zollinger has been critical in elevating the agency’s knowledge and response capacity. 

“EMS wouldn’t be what it is today without Dr. Zollinger,” says Mikel Walker, former Madison County EMS Chief. The agency has evolved over the years under Zollinger’s leadership to provide critical care services to the community. 

Zollinger had only one question when presented with the critical care proposal. “Can we make this work?” He saw the vision and gave the thumbs up to go for it.

Walker says the doctor has considerable trust and faith in his paramedics. 

Troyce Miskin, current EMS Chief in Madison County, has similar sentiments about the Director. “It was a big deal to move from medical to critical care services,” he says. “We are one of only two agencies who provide critical care on the ground in the state.” 

The move required Zollinger to sign off on expanding EMS’s scope of services. “It’s been like adding ICU nurses to our ambulance,” Miskin says. 

For interfacility transfers, the agency works with ventilators and can administer blood. Whereas their regular formulary includes about 20 medications, their expanded list comprises 50-100.

“Annually, we complete about 2,800 care responses, and because of our expanded scope of service under Dr. Zollinger, we can help everyone,” Miskin says. “What we can do is unheard of for an agency of our size.” 

Miskin explained that Zollinger receives no compensation for his efforts. “He simply wants to give back to the community.” 

During the summer, the county has a sizeable medical trailer that goes out to the enormous fires all over the West, where the first aid issues are tended to. 

“We Facetime so I can look at the patients and direct the care,” Zollinger says.

Managing his own care recently reminded him of the good he’s done for his patients. It could not have come at a better time. He was heavily weighed down by his own mortality. 

“I needed to go see the cardiologist after I experienced an atrial fibrillation problem,” Zollinger says. He thought they were going to want to do a heart catheterization, but Zollinger had already made up his mind he would not consent to the procedure because the last one almost killed him. 

“I was feeling blue because declining the procedure would ultimately be the end of me,” he says. 

The cardiologist looked over the tests and explained he didn’t have a heart problem. Surprised, Zollinger took a big sigh of relief. 

“I was feeling pretty good at this point, but still feeling kind of blue,” Zollinger says.

After the two formulated a non-invasive plan, the doctor sent his nurse in to tie up all the loose ends. 

​“She was very professional,” Zollinger recalls. “After she sent over my prescription, she said, ‘I want you to know you delivered me.’”

These eight words touched Zollinger’s heart. He began to cry, which caused the nurse to cry. “It turned out to be a better day for me because this nurse took a moment out of her busy day and shared something I needed to hear,” he says.

It’s moments like these on airplanes, around the country, and during neonatal resuscitation classes when someone shares that he delivered them that make his decades of service and sacrifice worth it. 

“Welcoming life into the world sets up these wonderful relationships with mothers and fathers and sometimes their daughters,” Zollinger says. 

He is pleased to have lasted this long and be retiring on his own terms. 

“I’m aware of some doctors who have died on the job or seen illness cut their careers short,” he says. “I’m grateful to be leaving on a good note. I think I’ve done a good job.” 

​So do his patients.