Callaway Physicians celebrates 40 years
University Physicians-Callaway Physicians, a clinic of the University of Missouri Health Care system, is celebrating 40 years of providing service in Fulton. The clinic, which was originally known as the Callaway Family Medical Center, was the first of several rural area clinics opened by the university during the 1970s. The rural clinics were originally created to provide health care to areas that lacked adequate facilities and to provide training for family medicine physicians.
Today the specialists at Callaway Physicians treat more 15,000 patients per year and, 40 years later, the first patient to ever be treated at Callaway still receives their medical care from the doctors at the clinic. James Stevermer, who serves as the medical director at Callaway Physicians, says that he and the rest of the medical staff focus on two main goals: “First, providing excellent health care for the people of Callaway County…as well as providing doctors in their final stage of training a rural setting to polish their primary care skills.”
Since the clinics inception in 1974, 400 family medicine physicians have received their resident training there. Many of those doctors have gone on to serve in rural and underserved areas throughout Missouri, including six who have gone on to serve in Callaway County.
In addition to celebrating its 40th anniversary, Callaway Physicians was also nationally recognized for its patient-centered medical home. This “home” model of patient care puts the individual at the forefront of medical decisions and builds a close relationship between the doctors and patients.
The MU Department of Family and Community Medicine, which includes Callaway Physicians, has been ranked in the U.S. News and World Report’s top 10 leaders in family medicine for 21 years in a row.