Terry Detrich, MD, FAAN, describes himself as “very clinical, very Maryland and intensely patient-care oriented.” For someone who almost went into cardiology, he has had a very fulfilling neurology practice for nearly half a century.

He became the Delmarva’s first general neurologist in the 1976. Since then Dr. Detrich has served thousands of patients in private practice, as medical director of the Primary Stroke Center at the University of Maryland Shore Medical Center and as the director of the Neurocognitive Clinic at Bayleigh Chase. Dr. Detrich has also been a clinical assistant professor of neurology at the University of Maryland Department of Neurology under Ken Johnson, Bill Weiner, Barney Stearn and now Peter Crino.

He is keenly interested in helping patients set realistic expectations for living with and treating their neurocognitive disorder. Dr. Detrich appreciates attending medical society meetings where he gains new perspective and knowledge that help him improve his approach to addressing conditions including dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease.

Dr. Detrich and his wife Patricia live with their dog and cat on Maryland’s eastern shore. They have been a couple for 54 years, married for 52 years. “It’s really special that we’ve gone through everything important in life together,” said Dr. Detrich of his time with Pat. Both Detrichs are lifelong Marylanders, having grown up, gone to school and raised their two children in the Old Line State.

Dr. Detrich enjoys spending time with his grandson and three granddaughters who all live close by. In addition, he is an avid outdoorsman, enjoying recreational fishing, hunting and farming. If you are ever in the neighborhood, he will have you over for the best homegrown tomatoes (in season) and take you on a boat tour of the Choptank River. He can also make a soft shell crab sandwich that rivals any top chef’s offering.

As a past president of SCNS, he has enjoyed attending meetings for the last two decades and counts some of the society’s members among his best friends. He and several members annually travel with their spouses to each other’s houses for vacation and fellowship.

In addition to the camaraderie at the SCNS annual meetings, he finds the event very unique because of the quality of attendees and the “wonderful respect between clinicians and academics.” It’s not every day that you can “go eyeball to eyeball with the experts.” Dr. Detrich has already registered for the 2020 annual meeting and looks forward to reuniting with fellow members in a few months.