Message From Our CEO

Thank You for visiting our website. Exciting things are happening at Great Plains Regional Medical Center, and I’d like to share just a few of those with you.

On May 11, 2007 under a warm, brilliant blue Western Oklahoma sky, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for our new 62-bed replacement hospital scheduled for completion in July of 2009. At 151,030 sq. ft., it will be an increase in size of nearly 50% over our present facility and should greatly improve our delivery of services and increase the comfort level of our patients and guests. It will also easily allow for a future expansion of up to 25 beds.

In the spring of 2007 we purchased a 64-slice CT scanner and can now offer cardiac calcium scoring. Cardiac calcium scoring is used to check for heart disease in its early stages and to determine its severity. Also, a new linear accelerator with IMRT (Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy) capability was recently purchased for our cancer center. The greatest advantage of this machine is that normal tissues surrounding a tumor get minimal doses of radiation while the tumor gets a higher and more effective dose. IMRT gives the patient fewer side effects when compared to traditional radiation therapy. The 64-slice CT Scanner and the IMRT linear accelerator are the latest in a series of purchases by our hospital to make sure we continue to have the most technologically advanced equipment to better serve our patients. It’s just one of many improvements we will be making as we begin construction on our new hospital.

No hospital can thrive and grow without the support of the Medical Staff. We are so fortunate to have the number of physicians we have here, providing a level of care almost unheard of in a rural community and offering such a variety of specialties. One of the many advantages of living in a smaller community is the fact that doctors become such an integral part of the community. We see them at school functions, we sit next to them at church, we pass them in the aisles of the local stores; we are privy to a level of familiarity with our doctors that is almost nonexistent in big cities. They are quite literally our neighbors and friends. I’m very pleased to announce that a number of new physicians have recently relocated here, and I hope you will join us in welcoming them to Elk City and help them become a part of our community.

 • Dennis DeJesus, M.D., is our new full-time Radiologist. His office is located within the hospital.
 • Isabel Vega, M.D., practices Internal Medicine and has a sub-specialty of Rheumatology. She has joined Dr. Anwar in his practice located at 2406 Bell Avenue.
 • Bradley Whinery, M.D., Family Practice/OB, began accepting patients the first week in August. His office is located in the recently completed medical office building located at 1900 West Second Street in Suite A.
 • George Robie, Jr., M.D., OB/GYN, also began accepting patients the first week in August. Prior to his arrival here, he was in practice at Ada for 4 years. His office is at 1900 West Second Street in Suite D.
 • Terry Jones, D.O., Family Practice, is another recent addition to our Medical Staff. He sees patients at the Burns Flat Health Clinic. Although he came here from Hobbs, NM, he is originally from Western Oklahoma and still has strong family ties here.
 • Gregory Rogers, D.O., whose name will be recognized by some, is returning to Elk City. Dr. Rogers was a full-time ER physician at GPRMC several years ago before deciding to move to Eastern Oklahoma to go into Family Practice. Effective September 1, 2008, he will again be joining our team of full-time ER physicians.

Our hospitalist program is now in full swing. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the program, we’ve hired physicians who work with your family doctor when you’re admitted to the hospital. This way you always have a physician available in the hospital to monitor your care. Remember, the hospitalist doesn’t replace your family doctor; the hospitalist is just an added member of your care team.

Three years in a row (2006 - 2008), Great Plains Regional Medical Center has been named a “Best Places to Work in Oklahoma”. In 2006 we were the highest ranked hospital on the list and the only rural company to make the list. Thirty percent of the rating needed to achieve this honor is based on the benefit package we offer. Seventy percent is based on what our employees say about the organization in a survey. Given the fact that the survey is anonymous and participation is voluntary, we are quite pleased and proud of those results.

At GPRMC, we actively practice the Disney philosophy of customer service. We’ve had such noticeable success with this – especially in our patient satisfaction scores - that other hospitals, schools and businesses throughout the state have invited us to make presentations to their employees. Quality patient care continues to be our focus at GPRMC. It’s a team effort in which there are many participants.

I invite you to browse our website. Enjoy the computer-generated video of our new replacement hospital, research the physicians and medical specialties available and the treatment and diagnostic services offered at our hospital, or read about our hospital’s unique history. We’ve added a live webcam feed to our website so that everyone can watch the progress of the construction on our new replacement hospital, and share in the excitement.

Because we have the support of the community and people in this area favor us with the opportunity to meet their healthcare needs, we have been able to grow at a time when many hospitals in Oklahoma do not have the cash on hand to meet their next payroll and are struggling just to survive. However, we don’t intend to rest on our past achievements, and we truly believe our best days are ahead of us. If you are a past patron of our hospital, thank you for honoring us with the privilege of caring for you and your family members. If you are considering us for your healthcare needs, we would truly appreciate the opportunity to exceed your expectations.

 Sincerely,

 Robin E. Lake
 Chief Executive Officer