It seems Lompoc physician Dr. Rollin Bailey just keeps getting awards.

In 2010, he was named "Physician of the Year" at the Lompoc Valley Medical Center, and in 2011 not only was he named "Favorite Physician in Lompoc" in a Lompoc Record reader's poll, he was also named "Physician of the Year" by the Santa Barbara County Medical Society (SBCMS).

Modest though he may be, Bailey can't help appreciating the accolades he has received recently: "I feel honored, greatly honored," Bailey said. He added that his most recent award from SBCMS was a special honor as it came from his peers.

An organization with 500 members, SBCMS gives its award each year to a physician who, according to a statement, "has worked to protect and improve public health and the quality of healthcare, who has advocated for universal access to healthcare, and who has engaged in community service."

Bailey's 37 years as a doctor of internal medicine with Valley Medical Group (VMG) is not the only thing that qualified him for the SBCMS award. Bailey has shown his dedication to helping others by serving as a board member and board president of the Lompoc Valley Community Healthcare Organization (LVCHO).

Through LVCHO, he has worked on providing healthy-children programs for the schools, providing doctors for prison inmates, and creating safe routes to schools to encourage children and their parents to walk or bike to school to increase physical activity.

As well as his work with VMG and LVCHO, Bailey is currently on the medical staff at the Lompoc Valley Medical Center, where he previously served as chief of medical services.

Bailey and his wife, Linda, moved to Lompoc in 1974 after he completed his residency in internal medicine in Long Beach.

"I was looking for a town near the coast and at least 100 miles from L.A. and the megalopolis," said Bailey.

Bailey saw an advertisement for a position in Lompoc, and since Lompoc seemed to fit his criteria, the Ohio native signed on with Valley Medical Group, where he has been working ever since.

"It's very satisfying, especially in a small town," Bailey said of his work. "Treating people for years, they get to be your friends."

Outside the office, Bailey likes to garden. He said he does plant flowers, but mostly he plants vegetables-cabbage and lettuces in winter and sweet corn, green beans and squash in summer.

"Lompoc is a great place to grow things," said Bailey.

In addition to raising vegetables, Bailey and his wife raised three children in Lompoc, the youngest of whom recently moved back to Lompoc, much to Bailey's delight.