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1st Choice in Walnut Ridge is collecting school supplies throughout the month of July. This clinic plans to have a back to school blowout in August to distribute backpacks and supplies. This year their theme is “Fill ‘er up”. If you have anything you would like to donate, please bring and place it in the cardboard school bus located in the lobby of the Walnut Ridge clinic.
Walnut Ridge – 1st Choice Healthcare recently received a USDA Rural Development Community Facility loan funded in the amount of $1,350,000 to construct a new facility for their Walnut Ridge health center location. The new facility will increase the number of exam rooms from 6 to 13, and will support the addition of two medical providers and 12 support staff.
“We are excited about this opportunity to extend access to affordable health care for the underserved in Lawrence County” says Brigitte McDonald, Executive Director of Corning Area Healthcare. “The new, state of the art facility will double our capacity to see patients. This is a great addition to the Walnut Ridge health care community and our commitment to Lawrence County!”
Walnut Ridge, AR — Carrie Boling Hunter, M.D. a family physician in Walnut Ridge, AR, was recently re-certified as a diplomat of the American Board of Family Practice (ABFM), the independent certifying body for the specialty of family medicine.
Hunter earned diplomat status by passing the ABFM’s exam of the six major medical areas that comprise the specialty of family medicine: pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine, psychiatry and neurology, surgery and community medicine.
In 1969, family medicine was recognized as a medical specialty by the American Medical Association and the American Board of Medical Specialties. Family medicine’s specialty board was the first to issue time-limited certificates and to require mandatory recertification every seven years.
Diplomats are required to complete all four components of the Maintenance of Certification for Family Physicians (MC-FP) program requirements throughout their seven-year certification term. The components include: evidence of professional standing, lifelong learning and self-assessment, cognitive expertise and evaluation/enhancement of practice performance. These components are designed to continuously measure competency in medical knowledge, patient care, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, practice-based learning and improvement, and systems-based practice.
Hunter has been in practice at the Walnut Ridge Community Healthcare Clinic, a branch of the Corning Area Healthcare System, since 2007. Dr. Hunter accepts all patients—including those without insurance. Patients who meet certain income requirements may qualify for reduced cost healthcare through the clinic.
To maintain membership in the American Academy of Family Physicians, Hunter is required to complete a minimum of 150 hours of accredited continuing medical education every three years. The AAFP was the first national medical specialty organization to set continuing education requirements for its members. This requirement helps ensure family physician members remain educated on the most up-to-date medical technologies, research and techniques.