“Taking Care of Your Health on World Health Day”
Every year on April 7, we celebrate World Health Day, a global observance of health as a human right, sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO). Whether you’re a health care professional or a person seeking health services, we all have a role to play in our own well-being and of those around us.
It was the WHO that held a historic international conference where it was proclaimed that primary care was crucial to reaching a state of “health for all” across the world. The conference solidified the significance of primary care as the main touchpoint that ensures patients have an opportunity to manage health concerns before they become problematic. Primary care providers are the first point of contact for patients seeking health care, acting as a hub for general medical needs that focus on prevention, wellness and treatment of common illnesses.
This World Health Day, Northern Arizona Healthcare (NAH) wants to remind the community about the importance of preventive care and how it contributes to maintaining our physical and mental well-being.
NAH is deeply committed to investing in the community, and that includes investing in our facilities and prioritizing recruiting new primary care providers. NAH recently announced the opening of its new Primary Care Clinic at 1895 N. Jasper Dr., Ste. 3 in Flagstaff. The expanded clinic offers 36 state-of-the-art exam rooms to accommodate a larger number of primary care providers. We hired an experienced physician recruiter whose specialty is recruiting practitioners to rural areas to ensure that we are attracting providers who align with NAH’s core values. Between opening this new facility and bringing on the specialized recruiter, NAH has grown from employing eight primary care providers last year in Flagstaff to a total of 16 primary care providers who will be seeing patients by the summer of 2025.
These new providers join an established primary care team, which includes a number of long-standing physicians, including Amy Britt, MD, Meghan Hughes, MD, and Mark Pico, MD, as well as physician assistants and nurse practitioners who all help families and the community stay healthy.
NAH’s new primary care providers share a passion for health care and are committed to delivering exceptional health care to the community.
Demetra Barr, MD, encourages members of the community to establish a relationship with a primary care provider.
“A primary care provider delivers patient-centered care, which means the provider is familiar with a patient’s history, allowing for not only first contact care, but also continuity of comprehensive care and providing a patient access to a customized health care team when needed,” Dr. Barr said. “Studies have shown that patients with a primary care provider have lower health care expenses through less use of the Emergency Department and more health promotion through preventive care, chronic disease management and regular screenings. This contributes to overall improved health outcomes, and a healthy community is a thriving community.”
We know patients’ needs are unique, so having a variety of providers can help patients decide who best suits their needs. Once a patient chooses the best provider for them, a relationship is built.
Derek Browne, DO, who recently started at NAH’s Primary Care Clinic, was excited to establish himself in the community and get to know new patients.
“I always enjoy introducing myself when I first walk in, looking them square in the eye and shake their hand while letting them know they are welcome here and then I find out what I can help them with,” Dr. Browne said. “As we travel through life, having someone who knows you, what you’ve been through, are going through, and even possibly what’s coming next, can be invaluable.”
NAH will continue to prioritize recruiting new providers in northern Arizona as part of its commitment to delivering exceptional care to the communities it serves. This will ensure that residents in our area can remain in their communities and receive the best care close to home.
In the meantime, you can celebrate World Health Day by doing the following:
- Take a moment to schedule a primary care appointment for you or a loved one.
- Talk with your primary care provider about any concerns you have.
- Visit with family members about one another’s health history and provide that information to your primary care provider.
Learn more about NAH’s personalized primary care in Flagstaff and book an appointment.
If you are interested in submitting a question for Northern Arizona Healthcare, please submit it to [email protected]. We will choose one question per month and one of our experts at NAH will answer the question in this column