Merritt W. Dunlap, MD

My husband was recently hospitalized. Dr. Dunlap was our only source of information and comfort. On his own, he chose to follow my husband’s treatment and keep in touch with us. The hospital staff consistently did not communicate at all, or gave us conflicting information. Very quickly we learned to rely only on Dr. Dunlap.

Dr. Dunlap is the best! I never feel rushed. He's thorough and explains everything well so that I am able to make decisions on options in treatment. He's earthy and not intimidating at all. He's up to date professionally and able to comment on current trends and treatments. I like that he shares some personal stories when we have common interests such as the time I talked about hiking in Lamoille Canyon and he immediately pulled out his phone with a photo of Lamoille Canyon as his screen saver, or the time he showed me a photo of his newly planted vineyard!
The whole staff is friendly and upbeat. I like that the office supports a "giving tree" at Christmas for needy children in the community. Please don't retire any time soon!

Dr. Dunlap is the kind of doctor that everyone wants. He genuinely cares for his patients. He told me once that moving to MDVIP was a great decision because it allows him to provide care on an individual basis more so than if he were in a large practice. He never fails to respond to questions or requests for help on the same day, usually with a phone call.

One instance really shows the lengths Dr. Dunlap will go for his patients. After a few weeks of feeling progressively worse, shortness of breath that was so bad I couldn’t walk down my hallway, I had to crawl. I also couldn’t sleep, it hurt to lay flat and ultimately hurt to sit in a recliner to sleep.

Dr. Dunlap called several places to try and find an ‘emergency’ echocardiogram. He found a place approximately 40 miles away for the next day. As soon as he got the results, he contacted my cardiologist who advised him that he wanted to see me the next day. He then contacted me and advised me that I had cardiomyopathy, heart failure, and told me that my cardiologist expected me in his office in the morning.

That night was terrible, I couldn’t breathe or get comfortable. I spent the entire night going from the floor to the couch to my recliner unable to find relief from the discomfort I was feeling. At 6 a.m. I woke my wife and told her that I needed to go to the hospital. At 6:30 a.m. I called Dr. Dunlap and told him that I was on my way to the hospital.

He called ahead and advised the emergency room that I was enroute and what my medical condition was. This made things extremely easy at the hospital as they immediately admitted me.

Dr. Dunlap showed up the next day, a Saturday, at the hospital to check to see how I was doing.

This type of individual attention is what sets Dr. Dunlap apart from all the doctors I’ve ever seen. I really appreciate his dedication to his patients. It makes me confident that I’m receiving the best care possible.

You’re asking for one moment that has stood out to us. It’s impossible to choose only one. We are in our mid-60s, and have been patients of many doctors in our lives. We have never had better care. Dr. Dunlap is comforting, caring, thorough, knowledgeable, easy to talk to and enjoyable. We might have gotten one of those attributes from any previous doctor, but he’s the whole package. We are very lucky to have found him!

Cheryl and Bruce Marshall