Dr. J. Gene Zimmerman M.D.
NEWS RELEASE
DATE: July 9, 2015
PROMINENT ANTIOCH PHYSICIAN RETIRES
ANTIOCH, CA (July 9, 2015) - On June 24, 2015, Dr. J. Gene
Zimmerman announced that after 55 years in medical practice, he is retiring
from his very active Family Practice at 3737 Lone Tree Way. He has been in Antioch 48 years, 41 of which
have been at his present office site.
Dr. Zimmerman had great care & concern for the well-being
of his patients. He always wanted to
give them the best possible medical care regardless of their age, race, or
ability to pay. He has had many grateful
patients, and he wishes all of them the very best in their future medical care.
Dr. Zimmerman received his premedical education at La Sierra
University and his Medical training at Loma Linda University Medical School
where he graduated on June 9, 1959 with an MD degree. He then interned at San Joaquin General
Hospital.
In 1961, Dr. Zimmerman accepted an invitation to serve for 5
years as a medical missionary doctor at the Empress Zauditu Memorial Hospital,
a 110 bed facility in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia. Dr. Zimmerman was one of three doctors at the
hospital where they ran a general clinic that served all patients regardless of
their ability to pay. They did orthopedics, pediatrics, general surgery and
OB/GYN. The three doctors delivered over 1700 babies per year.
Dr. Zimmerman in Ethiopia
Dr. Zimmerman also served for 5 months as a medical
missionary doctor at the Seventh-day Adventist Hospital in Bangkok,
Thailand. While there, he helped deliver
over 300 babies per month.
Dr. Gene Zimmerman initially came to Antioch on July 1, 1967
when he became associated with Drs. Ray Barker and Erhart Zinke at 1111 A
Street. In those days there were no
specialists in the area, so the three Family Practice doctors included the
specialties of Pediatrics, Obstetrics & Gynecology, and General Surgery
into their practices.
On Sept. 1, 1974, Dr. Zimmerman moved his office to the
present location at 3737 Lone Tree Way which is adjacent to the Sutter Delta
Hospital. He has practiced at this
location for 41 years. He developed a
heavy obstetrics practice until 1990 when he turned that aspect of medicine
over to his son, Dr. Daniel Zimmerman. However, he continued to assist his son
with surgeries until his retirement. Since Dr. Zimmerman focused on treating
the “whole family”, he included a heavy pediatric patient load into his
practice.
Dr. Zimmerman has always had a “family” oriented medical practice. His wife, Esther, served many years as his
business manager until her recent retirement in December 2013. His only daughter, Ellen M. Amador (Zimmerman),
has worked at his office for over 35 years and became his assistant manager
when Esther retired. Ellen’s husband,
Don Amador, did Lab, X-ray, and OB Ultrasound for many years. Ellen’s oldest
son, Jonathan Amador, has been working in the business office for the past 5
years.
Dr. Zimmerman’s oldest son, David, helps his brother, Dr.
Daniel Zimmerman, with several aspects of his OB practice. He also does landscaping as well as doing
maintenance on the medical office buildings at the Antioch Medical Park,
David’s wife, Edna, works with Dr. Zimmerman managing his medical rental
business.
Over the span of 17 years, Dr. Zimmerman has done numerous
overseas mission-oriented projects with his son, Ed Zimmerman, a building
contractor. They have done building
projects in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
In the Antioch area, Dr. Zimmerman has partnered with Ed in
accomplishing the construction of his last 3 medical buildings at Antioch
Medical Park. At 320 Worrell Road, they
completed the remodeling of the Seventh-day Adventist church and built an
11,000 sq. ft. school complex with 5 classrooms, a kitchen, and an
auditorium/gym.
The last major joint
construction projects they did together were the building of the Seventh-day
Adventist Church, the Hilltop Christian School complex, & the 8-Plex
apartment building located at 2200 Country Hills Drive in Antioch, CAs. These
projects were completed in 2012.
Dr. Zimmerman is also an avid gardener having designed and
planted all the landscaping at his home in Antioch, the 6.25 acres of the
Antioch Medical Park complexes at Lone Tree Way, and the 12.15 acres of the
school, church, & 8-Plex apartment complexes at 2200 Country Hills Drive.
