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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (March 27, 2019)
2 Partners in Health & Wellbeing // The Nugget Newspaper // March 27, 2019 Your Care is committed to accessibility essibility By Jim Cornelius editor in chief “Our philosophy is providing accessible care at a fair rate,” says Debora Wattenburg, co-owner and operations director at Your Care in Redmond. “We want people to get care when they need it.” Dr. Eric Wattenburg and the staff at Your Care has offered urgent care, walk-in care and occu- pational medicine services at the clinic in Redmond since March 2013. Deb and Eric moved to Sisters from northern California, where Eric had practiced in the town of Quincy. “He practiced in a very rural, remote area, where it was not uncommon for people to show up on our doorstep,” Deb recalled. After falling in love with the cul- ture and natural surroundings of Central Oregon, they decided to move here. Dr. Wattenburg prac- ticed with several providers in the area before purchasing a clinic and establishing Your Care. Operating his own clinic “allowed him the freedom to prac- tice medicine the way he thinks it should be practiced,” Deb explained. That style of practice is per- sonal, and thorough, with complete follow-up. A physical “doesn’t just take two minutes,” Deb said. “Our bottom line is our patient care,” she said. In order to provide the level and style of care Dr. Wattenburg believes in, “we have to have a team that owns it,” Deb says Deb Wattenburg is very proud of the 16-member team they’ve built at Your Care in addition to herself and Dr. Wattenburg. Your Care’s providers are: Eric Wattenburg, MD; Clayton Reinhardt, DO; Jack Bertman, MD; Khuelien Dretke, FNP; and Jim Munro, FNP. “I’m very proud we’re able to say that every year we’re able to grow the benefits we offer to our staff, she said, “making it a place where they can build their career — and provide for themselves.” Your Care invests in facilitat- ing the staff’s professional growth. Wattenburg cited the example of lead receptionist Stephanie Roberts, who recently completed course work to become an X-ray technician. “She graduated at the top of her class,” Wattenburg said. “We’re waiting for her (certification) to come, but she’s very close to tak- ing pictures for us. We’re very, very proud of her. I feel at Your Care, our team — we’re really a community.” Building a community spirit in the clinic is critical to serving the broader community. Your Care offers urgent care services for ill- ness and injury, from the flu to a cut that requires stitches. They also offer same-day walk-in care for general medical needs, wellness checks and physicals, screenings and some immunizations. Occupational medicine is a par- ticular area of emphasis at Your Care. “We’re working really hard on keeping our work force healthy and safe,” Wattenburg said. “That’s a big emphasis for us.” The practice provides a range of services that include screening, prevention and care. Screening can be audiol- ogy and vision screening or EKG testing — or drug test- Our philosophy is providing ing and employment physi- accessible care at a fair rate. cals. If screening detects an issue of concern, a patient We want people to get can be referred out to the appropriate specialist. care when they need it. The goal is to keep employees on the job and — Debora Wattenburg feeling healthy, prevent- ing injury and illness when possible and caring for the injured or sick so they can recover responsibility that we take seri- quickly and thoroughly and get ously,” Wattenburg said. back into action. Whatever the business type, Your Care is especially commit- Your Care can create customized ted to this work on behalf of law healthcare packages designed for a enforcement and fire personnel particular business, and direct bill- who serve the ing is available. community in Deb Wattenburg emphasizes high-risk and that Your Care is constantly seek- h i g h - s t r e s s ing ways to enhance its services. jobs. jo Your Care “We’re working hard to fill the h a s w o r k e d needs of the community,” she said. with cops and “We’re listening and we’re hiring f i r e f i g h t e r s people to fill those needs.” and smoke- In addition to his practice, jumpers who every Sunday at 4 p.m. Dr. Eric ju work wildfire. Wattenburg takes calls on Central Lately, they’ve Oregon’s KBND 1110 AM/100/one b e e n d o i n g FM, offering straightforward medi- F A A p h y s i - cal advice in terms that are eas- cals as well. ily understood. Topics range from Keeping those physical and mental symptoms to who serve fit the latest news in healthcare related is important topics: laws, ethics, costs, prescrip- to Wattenburg tions and other topics. Podcasts and the Your for Your Care, Your Health can Care staff. be found at http://kbnd.com/ “It’s a big podcasts/your-care-your-health. photo provided What is occupational medicine? Occupational medicine is a sub- specialty of preventive medicine that supports the health, safety and performance of workers. This obviously serves the workers them- selves, but it also provides major benefits to businesses and agencies that employ them, improving pro- ductivity, minimizing downtime and minimiz retraining caused by injured or ill workers being unable to perform their work. Occupational medicine is a focus at Your Care’s clinic in Redmond. They offer a wide range of occu- pational medicine services, and if a client has a particular need they are willing to see what they can do to meet it. Services include: DOT physicals; pre-employment physi- cals; firefighter physicals; DPSST physicals; hazmat physicals; cus- tomized physicals; drug screening; breath alcohol testing; TB testing; hepatitis vaccination and manage- ment; and annual health screenings. Your Care also offers workmen’s compensation management; post- injury care & management; audi- ometry testing; and vision screen- ing, and they provide on-site flu vaccination clinics (at no cost to employer). Operations Director Debra Wattenburg notes that Your Care is particularly pleased to provide occupational medicine services to the region’s first respond- ers such as law enforcement and firefighters and they pro- vide physicals for smoke jump- ers and now for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees. Wattenburg notes that high-stress, physically demanding careers like law enforcement and firefighting can expose people to heart attack risk and risk of damage to hearing and vision. Your Care is proud to provide screenings that can catch problems early and keep those who serve healthy and in the field.