Health Beat - Summer 2017 - 11

"Over and over, we hear great comments from patients about the new
facility," says Kyle Elmore, M.D., a
COMCARE family physician. "There's
much more space in the waiting areas,
and many patients are elated to not be
sitting on top of each other-especially
during the cold and flu season. The
natural lighting, views from the facility,
information resources including large
TVs ... have all been well received.
"We're all very excited to be here,"
Elmore says.

A technologist prepares a bone
density scanner for a patient
in COMCARE's new state-ofthe-art imaging center.

Growing to Serve
The three-story clinic offers 47,672
square feet of space. That's more than
20,000 square feet larger than the old
Elm Street location. The added space,
some of which is still unfinished, allows
room for future growth as the clinic
recruits more family physicians.
Aging populations are increasing
the demand for primary care physicians across the country. By 2019, the
number of seniors age 65 and older
is expected to grow by 20 percent in
north central Kansas.
These and other factors played a
significant role in Salina Regional
Health Center's decision to construct a
$10 million medical office building.
"Our goal is to recruit additional
family physicians and improve access
to primary care in order to position
ourselves to meet the health needs of
the community for the next 20 to 30
years," says Joel Phelps, COO at Salina
Regional Health Center. "The project
is a result of COMCARE and Salina
Regional's partnership to bring forth
quality health initiatives and manage
the health needs of our surrounding populations."
A recent assessment showed an
immediate need for nine primary care
physicians in Saline County. More primary care physicians will be necessary
for future growth.
"Having a state-of-the-art facility
already built is a great recruitment
tool," says Gary Williams, M.D., a
COMCARE family physician. "We've
had several recruits come by already.
I think it's very easy for them to see
themselves practicing here." 1

"Over and over, we
hear great comments
from patients about
the new facility."
-Kyle Elmore, M.D.

srhc.com

11
http://www.srhc.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Health Beat - Summer 2017
