WGH Opens New Residency Clinic

Wilbarger General Hospital recently added its newest service to better serve the health needs of the community.
The Vernon Family Practice Residency Clinic, which opened March 1, is designed to provide for most regular health needs along with pre-natal care.
The clinic is located in Suite 800 of the Doctor’s Clinic located just north of the main hospital building.
Hospital Administrator Jonathon Voelkel stated the new clinic is a full family practice operation that will also include pre-natal care. The clinic was created through a collaborative partnership between the Wichita Falls Family Practice residency program and Wilbarger General.
It is staffed by a board certified/board eligible family practice physician and two residents along with a nurse and two office staff members. The faculty physicians are Dr. Ahmed Mattar, director, Dr. Glen Minter and Dr. Tania Khan.
Voelkel stated the addition of pre-natal care to the new clinic will provide a service that has not been available to local patients in the Vernon area in recent years. Patients requiring that service had to go to Wichita Falls or other cities for such care.
No appointment is necessary for patients to visit the clinic, designed to provide pre-natal care along with normal practices such as treatments of cough, colds, flus, viruses and other normal ailments. Follow-up appointments will be scheduled for prenatal care needs, he said.
The clinic is open from 12 noon to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday, to provide flexibility in scheduling of visits.
“We set up this schedule so that patients won’t have to take off from work to see a physician,” Voelkel said. “And it provides for practical and less expensive alternative to going to the hospital’s emergency room for most ailments.”
Voelkel stated the clinic is part of a long-term plan by the hospital to create a more efficient venue for recruitment of family practice physicians.
“It will help us develop a much higher level and quality of care to patients,” he said. “Family practice physicians are the first ones that patients see before referrals to specialists. They are very important for the continuation of care for patients.”
For further information, call 552-2604.
Wilbarger General Hospital is a 47-bed, acute care hospital dedicated to the care of the people of Vernon and Wilbarger County.
By combining the science of healing with the art of caring, Wilbarger General promotes health and wellness in the community. A caring, competent staff along with state-of-the-art equipment provides efficient, effective quality health care.
As a Level IV Trauma center, the emergency department is staffed 24 hours a day/seven days a week with qualified physicians along with nurses certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Pediatric Advanced Life Support along with specialized trauma care.
Other services provided by the hospital include MRI, MRA, CT scanning, diagnostic radiology, mammography, DEXA scanning, bone densitometry, blood banking, microbiology, drug screening, blood chemistries, physical therapy, wound care, home health services, support groups for grief, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease; dialysis, ECHO cardiography, diagnostic sonography and much more.
The hospital’s Western Trail Behavioral Unit is designed to treat behavioral disorders in the geriatric population. This short-term in-patient facility treats depression, anxiety disorders and a wide range of emotional problems.
An intensive out-patient clinic, Alternatives, is also available for Medicare-qualified individuals suffering from depression, anxiety and other disorders.
Key hospital personnel include Jonathon Voelkel, hospital administrator; Richard Thiemann, hospital controller; Karen Crisp, administrative assistant; Cathie Bristo, human resources; Jackie Wilcoxson, chief nursing officer; Roger Edmonds, plant operations; Judy Faske, medical records director; Sally Coats, environmental services.
Also, Brenda Villa, data processing; Carol Patrick, purchasing; Iris Pinchak, director of pharmacy; Bernadette Tan, business office; David Hickok, anesthesia; Fred Brinkman, laboratory; Patsy Bachman, radiology; Gerardo Aguila, respiratory care; Barbie Lytle, Hospital Home Health; Betha Rutledge, emergency department nurse manager.
And, Tami Ferguson, surgery nurse manager; Michelle Sims, medical-surgical nurse manager; Neva Lewis, case manager; Hazel Brantley, dialysis; Carla Ainsworth, alternative care; Bobbie Graf, IP gero-pysch; and Ed Nary, information technology.
Super Star awards are presented to hospital employees four times a year in recognition for outstanding efforts in providing better service to the community.