Every other week, two to four hours an evening, patients can find Timothy B. Gardner, MD, FACG at the Good Neighbor Health Clinic, providing general primary care, smoking cessation services, and, of course, gastroenterology and hepatology specialty care. His dedication to the underserved in the rural community around Dartmouth College provides needed health care that the uninsured or under-insured would otherwise not receive. Described by colleagues as dedicated, humanistic, hardworking and persevering, Dr. Gardner was recently honored with the ACG Community Service Award at the College’s Annual Scientific Meeting in Philadelphia.
The Good Neighbor Health Clinic started as a project among medical students seeking a local grant to improve public health. Described as an exemplary and sought after teacher, Dr. Gardner was Chief Medical Resident, and alone, guided the students through the grant process, precepting them from the clinic’s infancy.
Today, after 11 years, you can still find Dr. Gardner at the Good Neighbor Health Clinic, working with first and second-year medical students, offering advice and guidance to ensure its success, all the while allowing the students to enjoy ownership of their project.
Dr. Gardner grew up in Newtown, Connecticut and graduated in 1995 with a BA in history from Dartmouth College. He received his medical degree from the University of Connecticut and completed his internal medicine residency, chief residency and gastroenterology fellowship at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. He received advanced training in clinical pancreatology and advanced endoscopy at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. In 2013, he received a master’s degree in clinical and translational research from the Dartmouth Institute.
Dr. Gardner is currently assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. Additionally, he serves as director, pancreatic disorders, in the gastroenterology and hepatology section at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. He has authored or co-authored more than 65 articles, and has presented at dozens of national and local meetings. He is an associate editor for Gastroenterology Research and is an ad hoc reviewer for The American Journal of Gastroenterology.
In addition to his dedication to his students, practice and his local community, Dr. Gardner has served on the ACG Educational Affairs Committee since 2007, and is currently the chair of the ACG Self-Assessment Test subcommittee and a member of the Maintenance of Certification subcommittee.
In his spare time, Dr. Gardner helps to coach and referee soccer, baseball, basketball and lacrosse, and serves as a coach and board member of the Hancock Hockey Association and Upper Valley Lightning Soccer Club. Dr. Gardner has been married to Jo Ellen (Petty) Gardner since 2000, and they have three children: Matthew (11 years), Jack (9 years) and Hannah (6 years).