Dr. Cynthia Paulis, Neighbor

Dr. Cynthia Paulis has had a varied career background. Before entering the medical field she worked on Capitol Hill for Senator Buckley from New York while in high school. During her college years at Georgetown University she was involved in the Public Relations Department giving tours of the campus, writing for the school magazine and newspaper. After graduate school at GeorgeWashington she worked in the international department of Salomen Brothers on Wall Street. Later she formed her own company, a physician recruiting firm known as American Health Services which was featured in the book "The New Entrepeneurs " by Terry Tepper. She traveled extensively throughout the United States recruiting physicians for rural areas and was a guest speaker at many state conventions. After three years Dr. Paulis decided to enter medical school and was granted a full scholarship by the United States Public Health Service. She was elected class president her freshman year and was the first female class president in the history of the school. After residency Dr. Paulis worked four years as a Lt. Commander with the USPHS in Ada, Oklahoma delivery much needed health care to the Native Americans in rural areas. During that time she learned to fly a plane. She also became a medical correspondent for CBS news in Texas where she had a weekly news spot on health care issues. She would finish her rounds at the hospital and pilot her plane from Oklahoma down to Texas to do her television spot and then fly back to Oklahoma.

Dr. Paulis moved to Texas and began working in rural areas throughout the state and in border towns as an emergency medicine physician. She became a medical director in in Dallas in a teaching hospital and was responsible for starting up an ER that had been closed for 5 years. During this time her mother was beginning to show early signs of dementia so she moved her mom down to Texas to live with her. Soon her mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. Dr. Paulis scaled back her shifts and eventually stopped working to become her mom's full time caregiver. After her mom's passing Dr. Paulis resumed working and began lecturing about Alzheimer's Disease at various state and regional conventions. She has lectured on several other subjects but remains passionate about educating  the public on Alzheimer's Disease.