Robert Haile, MD
New England Rehab Hospital

The Brisbane Telegraph
Grovely, Australia
May 29, 1959

Robert Haile, 10, of Grovely, in 2 years has won all the Wolf Cubs’ 13 merit badges.

Some of the things he did to earn the badges were to sew, knit, make toys, sketch a real life picture, play sport on a team, look after a garden, swim 25 yards in any stroke and run 50 yards in 10 seconds.

Wolf Cub Commissioner for Brisbane North (Mr. H.D. Baxter) said today Robert’s collection of badges was a remarkable achievement.

Robert, the second son of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Haile is in the 6th grade at Mitchelson State School and “wants to be a doctor”.

It’s 42 years and 9,808 miles (as the crow flies) from the home of Mr. and Mrs. Haile who must have been very proud of the news article that appeared in their local paper about the accomplishments of their son. There were a few detours along the way, but Robert did become a doctor.

Actually, his interest in medicine began at a much younger age than 10, “practicing” on his mom who had ill health through much of his childhood. “From the time I was 5, I wanted to cure my mother. Being in the hospital wasn’t scary for me; it was kind of normal.”

It was mom who helped guide her son through some of those detours, from Australia to the US and to medical school via her personal visits to two prestigious Rhode Island senators. One visit resulted in her son receiving an $18,000 scholarship to the University of Vermont! Dr. Haile graduated from UVM and went on to complete his residency training at New England Medical Center Hospital Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation through Tufts University.

During an interview for the New England Rehabilitation Hospital employee newsletter, The Rehab Roundup, Dr. Haile commented on a few of our questions as follows:

What led you to choose a focus in rehabilitative medicine?
During Dr. Haile’s medical training at UVM, he volunteered in the rehabilitation department where “I got to know many of the therapists and observed how, as a team, they helped so many patients. I thought the team approach was so neat and contributed to the well being of the whole person and knew that physical rehabilitation was the focus for me.” In fact, Dr. Haile received the prestigious Elkins Award in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation upon completing his residency at New England Medical Center.

Why did you choose to practice here at NERHP?
Following his residency, Dr. Haile became a staff physician at New England Rehabilitation Hospital in Woburn, MA. There he was a physiatrist of the head trauma unit and the outpatient community reentry program for head trauma. He was also a physiatrist of the general inpatient and outpatient rehab units. Dr. Haile also drove to Maine where he worked as a physiatrist at Advantage Health/New England Rehabilitation Hospital of Portland. “I was asked to take on the job as Department Chief of Rehabilitation at Maine Medical Center in 1994 and accepted.” Both Dr. Haile and his wife, Jackie, loved Maine so they made the move and settled in Scarborough with their children Bobby, Sandy and Michael.

What do you feel is the most important contribution you have made to your practice and the hospital?
“Developing trust. I have spent a lot of time with patients and families and have found that it is best to be honest and to give them realistic hope. I try to explain what has happened to the patient and to make sure he or she understands what will be happening them during their rehab so they can get to the best level possible.”

While Dr. Haile is Medical Director of both the Amputee and Spinal Cord Injury programs at NERHP, he stresses that these programs “are not about me!” From the vascular, neuro and trauma surgeons with whom Dr. Haile consults, to the staff at NERHP, he feels that “all members of the team are important. We have quality people on every level at NERHP who work together for the benefit of the patients. They are all amazing.”

If I were to ask your children to describe you, what would they say?
“He loves us and he’s lots of fun! When the children were little and I was in medical school, I always tried to spend time with them. We would have dinner every night and then we’d play and end the day with bed time stories. As they grew, we surfed and skate boarded together. And, no way could I have done any of this without the support of my wife, Jackie!”

What is your favorite book?
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai. “Where the head is held high, where knowledge is free, where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls...”

A ten-year-old’s dream of becoming a doctor came true. What’s next?
“I may go to Tibet!”