by Robert Stewart

    When Dr. Roger Meyer of Utica decided to retire from practicing medicine at the Utica Family Medical Center in 2003 after more than three decades of practicing medicine in Utica, Memorial Health Care Systems (MHCS) had advance warning.
     "He gave us a nice notice," Terri Lannan, clinic administrator for MHCS, said.
     But MHCS knew that filling the vacated position would require some time. They wanted to make sure they got the right person for the job.
     "We have a real commitment to the community," Lannan said.
     "I think one of the most important things is that we get a physician that's good for the community," Carol Carlson, director of community relations for MHCS, said.
     Finding a doctor who is looking to move to and serve a small town long-term has been the goal for MHCS.
     During the search process, several physicians have been helping to ensure that the Utica clinic remains staffed and open during its regular hours.
     Following Meyer's departure, Drs. Jason Summa and Ginny (Hoefer) Ripley rotated serving in Utica and in Seward. Physicians Assistant Amy Fischer worked with the doctors during their days in Utica and provided care on the days when a doctor was not present.
     "The benefit to that was providing both male and female (physicians) while providing full coverage (for the clinic)," Carlson said.
     That system remained in place for three years, but near the end of 2005, following the birth of her first child, Ripley decided to move to Omaha to be closer to family. This meant adding Dr. Barbara Froehner to cover Ripley's slot in the rotation at the clinic.
     "We wanted to feel like we gave that community coverage in Dr. Ripley's absence," Carlson said.
     In advance of Ripley's departure MHCS representatives met with representatives of the Utica community to discuss exactly what the town was looking for.
     "Everybody really agreed that what Utica really wanted was one full-time physician," Lannan said. "So at that time (MHCS) committed to looking for one full-time physician."
     Finding someone to take over full-time at the Utica clinic is taking time, due to a number of reasons.
     "Finding a physician isn't just like putting an ad in the paper," Lannan said.
     The timing of Ripley's departure was one reason MHCS did not immediately have a field of family practitioners to choose from.
     "Most of them (physicians) by Christmas have already selected where they're going to be practicing," Lannan said.
     MHCS contracted with a recruitment program based out of BryanLGH in Lincoln soon after the meeting with Utica citizens. They have also contracted with Delta Physician Placement, a national recruiting firm.
     The search is also taking time because both MHCS and Utica citizens want someone who will fit in with and complement a small community. Three physicians have been out to visit the clinic in Utica, according to Lannan, but none have yet decided to commit to serving the community.
     "They have a varied on-going interest," Carlson said. "Physicians don't make these kinds of decisions lightly."
     Both Carlson and Lannan stressed the importance of the Utica clinic in helping MHCS provide medical coverage to the county.
     "In a town the size of Utica it's really remarkable to have a full-time clinic," Carlson said. "It sits between York and Seward. Our commitment is to serve Seward County. It's the western part of the county that we really hope to be serving."
     In an effort to better serve the Utica area, MHCS recently moved beyond working with just representatives of the community and decided to involve the whole area in the process of its search for a new physician.
     "We decided probably the whole community needed to know what is going on," Lannan said.
     To that end, MHCS has been sending letters to every household with a Utica zipcode, providing updates on the search. Carlson said that this deepens the community's involvement in the process and lets everyone know how the search is progressing.
     "It very much is a collaborative effort," she said. "We're pretty committed to doing the updates (when) we have things to update them on."
     The current staff at the clinic consists of Froehner working Monday afternoons, Fischer working Tuesdays and Thursdays and Summa covering Wednesdays and Thursdays. Carlson stressed that MHCS is working to ensure that the Utica clinic will have a full-time physician as soon as is possible.
     "If there's nothing else we want the community to know, it's that we're actively looking," she said.