Morton Comprehensive Health Services is opening a satellite location in Bartlesville on Monday.
The Bartlesville Family Health Center will offer primary care medical services for adults and children.
The addition will help Bartlesville because the city needs more health care providers who are accessible. It is designated as a medically underserved area, Morton CEO John Silva said.
"It was the right thing to do for our vision if we're going to be serving the entire metropolitan area," he said.
For registered Morton patients, transportation will be available to Morton's other locations if additional services, such as dental care, are needed.
The center at 4140 SE Adams Road, Suite 105, will be open 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, and noon to 5:30 p.m. on Thursdays.
It has three exam rooms and will have a full-time nurse, with a family doctor there part time.
The move is a financial risk for Morton, but it is counting on treatment of Medicare and Medicaid patients as well as philanthropic and hospital support. It just wants to break even, Silva said.
"We're kind of holding our breath and hoping it's successful," he said.
Eventually Morton would like to have a bigger, permanent location in Bartlesville. It will assess what services are used most and grow whenever possible, he said.
"Our plan is to expand services as the regional population grows," he said.
Mary Beth Murray, administrator at the Washington County Health Department, said the community is supportive of the Morton clinic and some organizations have donated equipment to help it get started.
The Bartlesville area is in need of more physicians, particularly those that do general practice, she said.
"Primary care is really what we're lacking right now," she said.
In addition to its main campus at 1334 N. Lansing Ave., Morton already has satellite locations in east Tulsa, midtown, downtown, west Tulsa and Nowata.
Shannon Muchmore 918-581-8378
shannon.muchmore@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: Morton health system to open Bartlesville clinic
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