Since January, the Goodman Family Clinic has expanded its hours of operation.

“Our volume is doing really well,” said Julie Chrisco, Goodman Family Clinic nurse practitioner. “This has been a part-time clinic for many years, now we are a full-time clinic. This is something nice for the community.”

The clinic, which is a part of the Elk River Health Services, Inc., Family Health Clinics, opened its doors in January 1980. In September 2007, Dr. David Hill came on board.

“It is a family practice. We offer a wide-range of things, from minor emergency care, provide prenatal care, general medicine,” Hill said.

Expanding on the services provided, Chrisco said, “We do prenatal care, OB care, which is kind of unique for family practice.”

Prior to January, the office hours at the clinic were four hours a day, five days a week.
Now the hours have changed to 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

To help smaller communities, a federal program was introduced.

“A lot of small communities have lost hospitals, clinics,” said Hill. “What has helped us is the federal rural health clinic program. And that has made it economically a little more stable for us.”

According to the National Rural Health Association, only about 10 percent of physicians practice in rural America despite the fact that nearly one-fourth of the population lives there. More Medicare and Medicaid patients live in rural communities, and doctors usually are paid less for serving these patients than for insured customers.

Hill is at the Goodman Clinic on Tuesdays, but also has three other clinics, one in Anderson, one in Pineville and one in Southwest City. Hill began his practice in Southwest City in 1980.

 “Hill is a revolving physician,” Chrisco said.

“I rotate through the county,” Hill said. “Have stethoscope, will travel.”

The Goodman Family Clinic is located at 125 E. Main St. It has three exam rooms.

Hill sees the need to expand the clinic.

“We really look to the future, eventually acquiring some land and building a new facility,” Hill said. “No time table on that.”

The clinic’s phone number is 364-8300.