By Jean Schurman
About six years ago, Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital did a community health needs assessment for the south end of the Bitterroot Valley. At that time, one main concern was the lack of a clinic in the area. Then, last year, the hospital did another needs assessment and this time they found the community had even stronger support for a community clinic.
“We (the hospital board) take the information that the public gives us very seriously,” said John Bartos, CEO of Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital. “And we made a decision that we needed to provide a medical clinic here in the south part of the valley.”
The hospital eventually settled upon the building at 3334 Dvn Lane, just north of Darby on the east side of Highway 93 and south of the Napa building. The facility was renovated with an examination room, procedure room and even a laboratory that can do basic tests such as glucose, hemoglobin, and urinalysis. For more complicated tests, the samples are sent to Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital and those results are returned in a timely manner. Plans are in the works to add an X-ray machine also.
The clinic will offer primary care for everyone from prenatal and infants to the elderly. This includes preventive care, health and wellness education, acute care and chronic care management. Chronic care services include hypertension, cholesterol management, medication managements, vaccinations and immunizations. Orthopedic problems such as broken bones or sprains can be cast or wrapped at the clinic along with suturing and laceration care. In addition to doing medical procedures, they will make referrals to a specialist when necessary.
The ambulance that services the south valley will now be housed at the garage right behind the facility and the ambulance staff will have quarters in the clinic. When they are not on a call, they will be helping out wherever they are needed.
Bartos said the service area, which includes the East Fork and the West Fork, includes fairly long distances, so they wanted to be sure to have somebody they could rely on, “and our provider is going to fulfill those needs.”
The provider is Katherine Herczeg. She is a family nurse practitioner who moved here recently from Georgia. Herczeg is very excited to be involved in the clinic and in the community. She has already been out in the community introducing herself and talking about the clinic.
Herczeg said she has a great staff in place to assist her and the patients. Dawn Gettings is the medical assistant nurse. She can draw blood, do immunizations, and patient intake. Kailey Bergren is the receptionist who is also cross-trained to handle some nursing duties.
Bartos said that in addition to adding an X-ray lab, they are working to have a basic pharmacy so patients can fill their prescriptions right there in Darby. He said it kind of reduced the benefit of having the clinic in Darby if, after seeing the provider there, the patient still had to travel north to a pharmacy.
Bitterroot Physicians Clinic South is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. It can be reached at 375-4142 for an appointment. The clinic also accepts walk-in patients.