(July 23, 2015) Twin sisters Erin and Anne Spillane are living out a dream, opening their own practice together, Tidewater Dermatology, in Berlin.
The pair grew up in the suburbs of Forest County, Pa. Erin is the older of the two, by one minute.
“She’ll never let me forget that,” Anne said.
Both earned medical degrees from the University of Maryland, then served eight years in the U.S. Army followed by four years in the reserves. When their time was complete, the sisters started looking for a place to settle down.
“In the military, you kind of move around here and there, so you’re used to being somewhat transient,” Erin said. “We were looking for a small town community to raise our families in a rural setting.”
They first became familiar with the Eastern Shore while vacationing in Bethany Beach as children. Then, during medical school, both did their rotations in the area, Erin in Ocean City and Anne in Easton.
When looking for a place to practice, Berlin, Erin said, seemed like a natural fit.
“We know the area relatively well, and this is such an underserved location for dermatology,” she said. “Also, the feel of the community is lovely. It’s by the water and it’s not too far from where we grew up. Berlin it is.”
Anne agreed.
“We loved the Eastern Shore, so after we finished our rotations, I said, ‘I think that somewhere out here close to the water is going to be home in the future when we finish up our Army activities,’” she said.
While the sisters claim to have slightly different approaches, both specialize in what Erin called “bread and butter dermatology,” which will be the initial focus of the practice.
In the future, however, things might get a little more high tech, with Botox, chemical peels and even laser procedures possibly looming on the horizon.
“The military has a large managed care organization, and with the Wounded Warriors program, we had ample access to lasers and sort of surgical approaches,” Erin said. “We have a good amount of experience with those avenues, so we’ll certainly be doing cosmetics and we’ll probably look to bring a laser on board, depending on the community interest.
“We both like medical dermatology, so we won’t be running per say a medispa, but rather a full-functioning dermatology clinic with surgical capabilities and cosmetic expertise as well,” she added.
The practice began taking patients in July, and will see a soft opening next week.
Of course, for the Spillane sisters, this was the plan all along.
“It was a dream, but we didn’t know if it would end up happening,” Erin said. “It’s great that it’s actually coming to fruition.”
“We’ve been best friends for our entire lives,” Anne said. “It’s something you talk about abstractly about when you’re young and in your teenage years and college years. Someday, when we can pick where we want to settle down, we want to live a few minutes from one another, raise our children together and have easy access and close access to our best friends. We’re finally at a point in our lives where we can see that happen.”
Tidewater Dermatology is located at 314 Franklin Avenue, Suite 107, in Berlin. For more information call 410-641-2222 or visit www.tidewaterdermatology.com.
The pair grew up in the suburbs of Forest County, Pa. Erin is the older of the two, by one minute.
“She’ll never let me forget that,” Anne said.
Both earned medical degrees from the University of Maryland, then served eight years in the U.S. Army followed by four years in the reserves. When their time was complete, the sisters started looking for a place to settle down.
“In the military, you kind of move around here and there, so you’re used to being somewhat transient,” Erin said. “We were looking for a small town community to raise our families in a rural setting.”
They first became familiar with the Eastern Shore while vacationing in Bethany Beach as children. Then, during medical school, both did their rotations in the area, Erin in Ocean City and Anne in Easton.
When looking for a place to practice, Berlin, Erin said, seemed like a natural fit.
“We know the area relatively well, and this is such an underserved location for dermatology,” she said. “Also, the feel of the community is lovely. It’s by the water and it’s not too far from where we grew up. Berlin it is.”
Anne agreed.
“We loved the Eastern Shore, so after we finished our rotations, I said, ‘I think that somewhere out here close to the water is going to be home in the future when we finish up our Army activities,’” she said.
While the sisters claim to have slightly different approaches, both specialize in what Erin called “bread and butter dermatology,” which will be the initial focus of the practice.
In the future, however, things might get a little more high tech, with Botox, chemical peels and even laser procedures possibly looming on the horizon.
“The military has a large managed care organization, and with the Wounded Warriors program, we had ample access to lasers and sort of surgical approaches,” Erin said. “We have a good amount of experience with those avenues, so we’ll certainly be doing cosmetics and we’ll probably look to bring a laser on board, depending on the community interest.
“We both like medical dermatology, so we won’t be running per say a medispa, but rather a full-functioning dermatology clinic with surgical capabilities and cosmetic expertise as well,” she added.
The practice began taking patients in July, and will see a soft opening next week.
Of course, for the Spillane sisters, this was the plan all along.
“It was a dream, but we didn’t know if it would end up happening,” Erin said. “It’s great that it’s actually coming to fruition.”
“We’ve been best friends for our entire lives,” Anne said. “It’s something you talk about abstractly about when you’re young and in your teenage years and college years. Someday, when we can pick where we want to settle down, we want to live a few minutes from one another, raise our children together and have easy access and close access to our best friends. We’re finally at a point in our lives where we can see that happen.”
Tidewater Dermatology is located at 314 Franklin Avenue, Suite 107, in Berlin. For more information call 410-641-2222 or visit www.tidewaterdermatology.com.