| Dr.
edwards accepts position in Texas
Dr. Jeffrey Edwards, family physician with St. Mary’s Hospital and Clinics since 1994, has accepted a position in Stephenville, Texas. 
“I will have a combined clinic and hospital practice very similar to my position in the Cottonwood and Craigmont area. I also hope to have additional opportunities to conduct research and to teach,” said Dr. Edwards. “My family is interested in moving to a warmer, drier climate in a larger town.” Stephenville has a population of 15,000. Dr. Edwards will see patients until the end of July. “His patients will have the opportunity to select another provider with SMHC,” said Larry Kidd, COO. “Of course, we’ll transfer medical records to whichever provider his patients may select. Our hospital and clinics have been very, very fortunate to have Dr. Edwards on our staff for the past 11 years. He is a fine physician and his patients have provided such positive feedback about the care and concern he shows in their treatment.” The SMHC medical staff and administration has already begun recruiting for a family practice physician to replace Dr. Edwards. Kathryn Allen, RN, SMHC Medical Staff Services, will help coordinate the recruitment process. “We will use temporary physicians and Megan Wilson, Family Nurse Practitioner, to staff our medical clinics during our search,” said Allen. “We are planning to operate our four satellite clinics with the same hours that we’ve had in the past.” “The SMHC medical staff works as a team so it will be important to find not only a very competent physician, but also one that will complement our other health providers and be a strong team player,” said Casey Meza, CEO. “It will be difficult to replace Dr. Edwards because he was so well respected by the medical staff and so well loved by his patients, but we will contract with temporary physicians until we have found just the right person.” SMHC has already contracted with Dr. Timothy Cox to fill the position from August through November. He graduated from the University of Kansas School of Medicine. According to the program director of the UMKC Department of Family Medicine, “Dr. Cox has excellent clinical skills in all aspects of family medicine.” Dr. Edwards sees patients at both the Cottonwood and the Craigmont Clinic. “The last 11 years have been great. I have thoroughly enjoyed helping SMH and its clinics grow and expand. I believe the quality and breadth of care at SMH is continuing to improve with support from BHS,” said Dr. Edwards. “It has been very rewarding and satisfying to work with all the staff. But, most of all, I will miss working with the patients and their families.” |
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