As a growing number of neighborhood veterinary clinics have been absorbed by corporate entities in recent years, Beauchamp Animal Hospital in Grassland has emerged as a bit of an outlier. And Dr. Adam Bush, the clinic’s veterinarian/owner, wouldn’t have it any other way.
While studying at Lipscomb University, Bush worked at the clinic under founder, Dr. Charles Beauchamp. “He told me that he’d hire me for a full-time job when I graduated from vet school and that one day he would sell the business to me,” says Bush. “And to have a mentor like him stick to his word tells you everything you need to know.”
Beauchamp didn’t just sell the clinic six years ago, “He sold it to me right when the corporations were buying a lot of vet practices for a lot of money,” says Bush. “I’m sure he turned down several offers. We’re a unicorn in the vet world; you just don’t see as many privately-owned practices like this anymore.”
Bush grew up on a peanut farm at the end of a dirt road in the town of Colquitt in Southwest Georgia. His father, Ted, passed away when Bush was 15 but his sister and mother still live there. It’s not a coincidence that the values and work ethic he acquired in those hot and dusty fields carry over to his veterinary practice.
“My childhood was very different compared to how it is for many kids today,” says Bush. “From planting and harvesting peanuts to pulling weeds by hand, it was a lot of work. And there’s a lot of cotton down there too. We’d work through the fields, check for worms or pests and report back to the farmer. It was a different life, but it was a good life. Growing up where I did, you knew everybody and helped out during the harvest season. And the local vet, I went to school with his kids. He was part of the community. It absolutely shaped me.”
While Franklin and Williamson County are exponentially larger, his practice at Beauchamp embodies his small-town upbringing. His two associates, Dr. Molly Brinkmann and Dr. Jordan Seidman, are from the area and understand those values.
“The client experience really matters, and you’re treated that way,” says Bush. “We make an effort to get to know the client because that’s how we get to know their pet and that way we can provide better care. You’re a person who trusts us to care for your pet, not a number so that we can make our quota.”
Bush began thinking seriously about becoming a veterinarian during the summers of his college years in Nashville. He took a job in Nolensville working on a Tennessee Walking Horse breeding farm for Dr. William Gaw. “Back then, Nolensville was nothing but farms and Dr. Gaw was an amazing man and a wonderful boss,” Bush says. “I fell in love with working on that farm and decided that that is what I wanted to do.”
What began as a summer job soon became much more. A few days after he started, the breeding manager quit, so Dr. Gaw trained Bush and his friend for the role, a position he held for two and a half years. Bush thought he would pursue a career in the equine industry but that changed after he went to work for Dr. Beauchamp. “I saw it as an opportunity to boost my resume for vet school,” he says. “But Dr. Beauchamp and I hit it off and I fell in love with the small animal aspect of vet care.”
Bush resides in rural Williamson County where he recently purchased some land where he has chickens, a couple of mini donkeys and a large garden. He has two daughters, Mary Michael and Lela. His personal pets include a couple of dogs and cats.
It’s a simple life that helps him stay grounded and connected to his rural roots. Likewise, that sets the tone for his work as a neighborhood veterinarian. “I’ve always tried to be healthy but in recent years I’ve thought more about nutrition and healthy habits,” he says. “And I think it translates into the way I practice. We keep it local and private and that’s who I am. Dr. Brinkmann and Dr. Seidman are the same way, and we are doing the best we can do to carry on Dr. Beauchamp’s legacy.” BeauchampAnimalHospital.com