Dr. G. Max Stell, of Stell Family Practice, will close the doors on his practice Thursday – and his retirement has sparked moves by area physicians.
Dr. Jennifer Lee, a family practitioner who practices in Sibley, will be moving to 3 Medical Plaza at Minden Family Medicine, located behind Minden Medical Center, on Jan. 6. She says she’s excited about the move and looks forward to better serving her patients in Minden.
“I’m joining Dr. (Chris) Earnhardt at his practice,” she said. “The opportunity just sort of presented itself, and Dr. Earnhardt approached me and talked to me about it. I live in Minden, I’m from Minden and I was glad to have the opportunity to be a little bit closer to my kids who go to school in Minden. A fair number of my patients are from Minden, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to make a change.”
Dr. Michael Chanler will assume the records of Dr. Stell and open his practice in Stell’s current facility at 102 Office Park Drive. Chanler will assume physicians’ duties at MMC as well. Allen Mosley and Brian Sparks will move to the new location with Chanler.
“The opportunity came available to purchase a building in town,” Mosley said. “The new space allows us to expand our services and accept more patients to our practice.”
Sarah Haynes, director of physician relations and industry at MMC, says the trio will be able to offer more services for employers with occupational medicine and add an additional provider for more daily appointments.
“It is so encouraging to see expansion and growth in healthcare and Minden physicians,” she said. “Their new space is larger and has the land to increase the size of their practice.”
Stell will continue to work in the emergency room at MMC while serving as the parish’s coroner.
Each physician has said, with written permission, they will make patients’ medical records available to them if they choose to find another physician for medical care. Each physician sent letters to their patients explaining the move and some even sent medical release forms for those patients who wished to change healthcare providers.
Michael Austin, physician’s assistant, will be moving out of the practice of Dr. Mark Wilson, orthopaedic surgeon, to the MMC emergency room department.
George E. French III, MMC CEO, says the goal is to make sure top quality medical care is provided to the area’s patients and is encouraged by the coming changes.
“Our physicians have many new opportunities to use their skills and it is interesting to see them cycle through those phases of their practices,” he said. “Some physicians enjoy seeing their patients in their office environment, where others prefer seeing patients in an inpatient or emergency room setting. No matter the place, our goal is to meet the needs of those individuals in our service area. We are proud to see these specific high-quality providers make changes and moves locally in order to continue providing their medical expertise in our community.”
