Rural health care isn't what it used to be.

Just ask Earl McCracken, 67, of Lakengren. He'll tell you the care is much better here now than it was a decade ago, and the reason is the Preble County Medical Center.

McCracken suffered a fall last April, tearing his rotator cuff and bicep tendon in the process. After a few months of pain, he underwent surgery to correct the problems and then Earl was told that a lengthy rehabilitation program would be needed. He wasn't very pleased about the idea of regular, hour-long drives to Southview Medical Center for his therapy. After all, the price of gas still hovering around $4 at the time.

At his first physical therapy session at Southview, Earl expressed concern about the lengthy drive. "That's when my therapist told me about the Preble County Medical Center," he said. "I was hesitant to schedule an appointment at first, but I did because my therapist at Southview was so wonderful."

His hesitations quickly faded. "The team at the Preble center was absolutely professional, and in no time I was able to use my arm and continue my rehab exercises at home," Earl said. "Mindy (Brower) and all the therapists were great. It is one of those places you can go and everyone has a great attitude all the time, and they just can't seem to do enough for you. The facility is only 15 minutes from my house, so the convenience is a plus. I never had to wait, not once, past my scheduled appointment time."

"It was necessary for Mr. McCracken to have the therapy to get back to everyday activities," said Brower, Senior Physical Therapist at the Center. "We worked closely with his physician, as we do with all patients, to individualize a plan for recovery. Everyone heals and progresses differently."

The team at the Center offers much more than post-operative therapy. They also work with patients suffering from knee and ankle strains, back and neck pain, stroke victims, people with wounds and athletic injuries. Recently, they also started offering occupational therapy.

"Your doctor can fax a physical therapy prescription to the Center, and we are very flexible with post-operative patients like Earl," Brower said. "We make sure they are scheduled immediately."

Unfortunately, McCracken tore his right rotator cuff a second time after battling the damages left by Hurricane Ike with a chain saw. This time, Earl had no hesitations to have his therapy. "I knew I would be in good hands with the team at the Preble County Medical Center," he said.

To learn more about the physical therapy services offered at Preble County Medical Center, call David Kendel at (937) 456-8310.

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Residents of Eaton and surrounding communities have closer access to high-quality medical services since the opening of the Preble County Medical Center six years ago. And as the community has grown, so have the Center's medical offerings.

The facility at 450-B Washington-Jackson Road is connected to the Preble County YMCA, and the two entities have had a healthy marriage since the beginning. "The YMCA's mission of healthy mind, body and spirit is very much like Kettering Health Network's mission to improve the quality of life for the people in the communities we serve," said Richard Haas, President of Grandview Medical Center. "We have really focused on this, along with expanding access to services where there is a great need."

A fine example of growing to meet need happened one year ago when the facility nearly doubled in size with a 14,000-square-foot, $3.2 million expansion. The addition brought a pharmacy with short wait times and competitive prices. There is also a new dialysis center, more examination rooms and fixed CT scanner to enhance the Center's already impressive assortment of radiology offerings.

Perhaps the most impactful change was the 7,000 square feet of new space devoted to a collaboration with Dayton Regional Dialysis and Nephrology Associates of Dayton, a seven-physician practice. This offering of experts and service has never been available in Preble County before the Preble facility brought it here, and it saves many Eaton residents a daily 30-minute drive to access these services in Dayton or Richmond.

Physician offices occupy a large portion of the facility, housing five full-time primary care physicians and two time-share offices to be used by general surgeons, neurologists, cardiovascular surgeons, cardiologists, orthopedic surgeons and ear, nose and throat among other specialists. Full-time primary care doctors are Scott Vosler, DO; Jill Vosler, DO; Mark Vosler, DO; Allen Ferguson, DO; and Robert Kominiarek, DO.

Grandview also uses a large portion of the facility to house a physical medicine department, which offers physical therapy and occupational therapy. "This is another area where our facility really saves residents in this rural area from having to drive a long distance for a long-term therapy," said Center Director Ann Hopkins.

In addition to the new CT scanner, Preble County's imaging center offers X-ray, ultrasound, mammography, flouroscopy and a mobile MRI scanner. Patients also have access to blood tests, as well as EKG and Holter monitoring at the Center.

"What Dr. John Vosler, DO, and Dr. Harold Ferguson, DO, started so many years ago has now grown and with support from the local doctors and Grandview Medical Center has become a tremendous community resource," said Jill Vosler, DO.

"The doctor's practices have grown to the point where they had to hire nurse practitioners and physician assistants, and they have even expanded their hours to keep up with the demand," Hopkins said. "We really think the best is yet to come for Preble County and its health facility."

Additional land is available for future expansion of the facility. "In a county where there is not a hospital, we need to offer exceptional primary care and medical services in conjunction with a regional medical center like Grandview," Haas added. "We will continue to look at ways we can grow to serve the need here."

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