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McCurtain Memorial Hospital Announces
New Partnership with Kidney & Hypertension Specialists
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Dialysis Services Coming to Southeast Oklahoma
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McCurtain Memorial Hospital is proud to announce a new partnership with Kidney and Hypertension Specialists of Paris,
a division of Tyler Nephrology Associates. This collaboration of medical professionals will bring kidney disease
specialists to our community. Beginning in January 2013, nephrologists Mark W. Greenwell, MD and Dr. Esther O.
Iheukwumere, MD will begin seeing patients one day each week in their offices at the medical complex adjacent from
the hospital. Also, a new 13-chair dialysis center will be constructed in Idabel and is anticipated to open in late
2013.
The hospital’s recently published Community Health Needs Assessment revealed that lack of access to care is a
leading health factor for people in our community. Another leading factor defined in the Needs Assessment is
the growing rate of obesity. Improving access to care for people suffering from the effects of kidney disease
has been an 8-year goal for McCurtain Memorial Hospital. Bringing kidney specialists to McCurtain County and
providing dialysis services close to home will certainly improve the quality of life for many people in southeastern
Oklahoma.
CEO, Brit Messer introduced Dr. Greenwell and Dr. Iheukwumere to the McCurtain Memorial Hospital Medical Staff on
Tuesday evening. Dr. Greenwell provided an educational presentation to the physicians on the benefits of the early
diagnosis of kidney disease. Dr. Greenwell explained that his focus as a kidney and hypertension specialist is to
first educate the patient about their disease and proactively manage their care by working both with the patient and
with their primary care physician.
Dr. Greenwell and Dr. Iheukwumere expect to provide early intervention for people with kidney disease focusing on
patient education and coordination of care. By controlling diabetes and hypertension, patients can delay the need
for dialysis. Additionally, through coordinated care including the primary care physician, the hospital, and the
specialists, patients will be more able to understand their disease and will be more actively involved in their own
care.
Dr. Greenwell stated that the physicians already provide dialysis services to approximately 40 people from McCurtain
County at their Paris facility. With the construction of the new 13-chair dialysis center, residents of southeast
Oklahoma will no longer need to drive more than one hour each way for dialysis treatment three times each week.
Additionally, the number of people receiving dialysis is expected to rise as McCurtain County is listed as an area
with one of the highest rates of increasing kidney disease. McCurtain Memorial Hospital CEO, Brit Messer, expressed
that proactively managing illness and focusing on wellness in the future is key to improving the health status of
McCurtain County.
Dr. Greenwell and Dr. Iheukwumere will begin seeing patients one day each week beginning January 3, 2013, in their
offices at 1425 E. Lincoln Rd., Suite B3 in the medical complex adjacent from the hospital.
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Mark W. Greenwell, MD, Kidney and Hypertension Specialist, gave a presentation on Dialysis and
Kidney Disease to the McCurtain Memorial Hospital Medical Staff. Esther O. Iheukwumere, MD,
Nephrologist (seated) accompanied Dr. Greenwell.
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