July Aug 2026

JULY AUG

2026

TABLE OF CONTENTS

In this issue:

67

11

Editor's Page Jim Blaine, MD..................................................................... 3 President's Page Melissa Gaines, MD.............................................................. 4 Undergraduate Medical Education in Springfield David Barbe, MD.................................................................. 6

Editor’s Note: All materials for the Journal must be submitted by the first of the month prior to publication.

Get to Know Harold Bengsch..........................................7

Co-Editors:

An Interview with Harold Bengsch, Long-Time Public Health Advocate Jim Blaine, MD.....................................................................8

The Waiting Room We Never See Amy Blansit, DSHc................................................................11 Allocation Drift: Set The Right Temperature For Your portfolio Rohan Patel and Zack Swartz...............................................13

14

Introducing the Centerstone Youth Resiliency Campus Clay Goddard........................................................................14 The Dangerous Truth About Today's Marijuana Laura Stack...........................................................................17

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Vol 85, NO. 4 JULY AUG 2026

Jim Blaine, MD Minh-Thu Le, MD

Junior Co-Editor: Andrew K. Le

Managing Editor: Dalton Boyer

Editorial Committee: Michael S. Clarke, MD David Barbe, MD Jaya LaFontaine, MD Dalton Boyer Andrew Le Jean Harmison Barbara Hover

2026 AHA Heartwalk.......................................................18

SOCIETY OFFICERS

Paging Dr. HENRY Lowering Lifestyle Inflation To Regain Financial Security Rhonda Sorensen................................................................20

Melissa Ganies, MD, FACP, FAAHPM President

University of Missouri School of Medicine Springfield Clinical Campus Ribbon Cutting Ceremony....................21

Sanjay Havaldar, MD Treasurer

GCMS Rocky Mountain Medicine 2026..........................22 A Poem by Bob Stephens..................................................27 Congratulations to Paul Carrick Grant Recipients..........28 Professional Directory...................................................29

22

On the Cover: Elk at Estes Park, Colorado

The GCMS Journal is available online:

www.gcms.us

Vu Le, MD Secretary

James Rogers, MD Immediate Past President

Council Members: Barbara Hover James Rogers, MD Melissa Gaines, MD Rachelene Middleton, MD Jim Blaine, MD Sanjay Havaldar, MD Jaya LaFontaine, MD John Steinberg, MD Taylor Brooks, MD Vu Le, MD

Managing Director: Jean Harmison

Executive Office: 4730 S. National Ave. Suite A1 Springfield, MO 65810 email: director@gcms.us www.gcms.us All communications should be sent to the above address. Those marked for the attention of a particular officer will be referred.

EDITOR'S PAGE

by Jim Blaine, MD

I am writing this editorial from Estes Park Colorado and the GCMS Rocky Mountain Medicine conference. This is the fourth straight year this event has been held in Colorado (last three in Breckenridge). It has been a wonderful experience sharing talks, and spending time hiking in the Rocky Mountain National Forest with friends and family.

Many thanks to CoxHealth MS Education Coordinator Triesa Massey for providing AMA Category 1 approval.

to the community. If you like what you see, please consider a donation to support this program (call 417 887-1017).

Our annual BASH event is at Highland Springs on September 26. This event also helps support our GCMS Foundation mission to improve the health of our community.

This issue is dedicated to former Springfield/Greene County Health Director Harold Bengsch. Harold has been a treasured mentor to so many of us at GCMS over the years.

He has provided valued support for every GCMS public health venture including the Child Advocacy Center but, just as importantly, he has provided guidance in a tactful and caring manner.

After two years of work on our “Ask Your Doctor” project, it has recently exploded (in a good way). Thanks to a $5,000 donation from Charlie O’Reilly, and another $5,000 donation from Ron Penney along with a $2,500 grant from the Community Partnership of the Ozarks (CPO) and a $2,500 grant from the GCMS Foundation, we are on air and streaming on KY3 for the next four months with our Marijuana Risks to Youth PSA’s. This would not have been possible without the 50% 501c3 discount from KY3 President Brian McDonough.

A couple of weeks later, long-time friend and Cox Foundation President Lisa Alexander introduced us to BSR Marketing President Robert Felton, and he facilitated KOLR10 TV and streaming to support our Child Advocacy supported Preventing Child Abuse PSA’s. Please go to the GCMS website (gcms.us) and click on Child Advocacy Center and GCMS Community Action Committee to view our American Academy of Pediatrics-approved messages

JULY AUG 2026 • GCMS Journal • 3

PRESIDENT'S PAGE

By Melissa Gaines, MD, FACP, FAAHPM

Expanding Our Reach As we move through the summer months, the work of GCMS continues with steady momentum and a growing sense of purpose. Both Council and the GCMS Foundation have been actively preparing for the upcoming GCMS BASH, which will be held on September 26 at Highland Springs. This event represents more than a celebration—it is a meaningful opportunity to support the Foundation’s mission of improving community health through education, impactful projects, and support of related charitable organizations. The dedication and collaboration behind this effort reflects the strength of our physician community when we come together around a shared goal.

In June, members of Executive Council and the GCMS Foundation gathered for a joint meeting at the University of Missouri School of Medicine–Springfield campus. This time together was both informative and inspiring. We received an update on the development of the four-year medical school, anticipated to launch in 2027, and had the opportunity to tour the new facility. It was a powerful reminder of the investment being made in the future of medicine in our region and the importance of our role in supporting, teaching and mentoring the next generation of physicians.

resilience, these efforts are meant to provide light through guidance, clarity, and support at different points along the professional journey.

As we continue forward, I remain encouraged by the engagement of our members and the growing visibility of GCMS across our region. Whether through education, advocacy, or connection, we are expanding our reach and deepening our impact.

If you have been engaging with GCMS but are not yet a member, I invite you to take that next step. We are building a professional home for physicians one rooted in belonging, community, and shared purpose and there is a place for you in it. Your voice and participation help shape the future of medicine in our region.

Thank you for your continued commitment to this work and for the privilege of serving as your President.

Our commitment to community engagement is also becoming more visible. In the coming months, you will begin to see GCMS featured on local television through “Ask Your Doctor” segments and public service announcements.

These efforts reflect our mission to extend the physician voice beyond the walls of our clinics and into the broader community. I am especially grateful for the many physician volunteers who are giving their time and expertise to educate the public on important topics such as preventing child abuse and understanding the risks of marijuana use in teenagers.

This is meaningful work that underscores the trusted role physicians play in promoting the health and well-being of our communities.

As we continue to build opportunities that support physician well-being, you will also notice upcoming events this fall focused on financial wellness an often overlooked but essential part of resilience. These sessions, scheduled for September 29 and October 1, will include breakout discussions tailored to physicians in early, mid, and late career stages. Much like the candle we have begun to use as a symbol of physician

4 •JULY AUG 2026 • GCMS Journal

Mission Statement Bringing physicians together to improve the health of our community.

Focus on what’s most important to you.

Tailored Tax, Wealth Management, and Family Office to help you prepare for what’s next.

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All investments may lose money.

JULY AUG 2026 • GCMS Journal • 5

Undergraduate Medical Education in Springfield – Past, Present, and Future

By David Barbe, MD

As discussed in a previous article in the GCMS Journal,¹ physician shortages have affected southwest Missouri for decades, with the greatest need in rural primary care and persistent gaps in some specialties as well. That article emphasized the importance of the location of graduate medical education, since physicians often establish practice near where they complete residency training. Expanding residency opportunities in our region should therefore increase the number of physicians who remain here to practice.

Although the effect is not as strong as that of residency training, physicians who attend medical school in a state are more likely to ultimately practice there. That likelihood is even greater for students who complete both medical school and residency in the same state, and stronger still for those who are a resident of that state when they begin their training. In addition, students from rural or non-metropolitan backgrounds are far more likely than students from urban areas to return to similar communities to practice.

Taken together, these findings suggest that recruiting students from southwest Missouri, educating them locally, and retaining them for residency may be one of the most effective ways to strengthen the physician workforce in our region.

Understanding the past, present, and future of undergraduate medical education in Springfield is therefore an important part of addressing the region's long-term workforce needs.

The Past: For more than three decades, Springfield physicians have trained medical students through a community-based model that brings learners here for their clinical years—an approach that laid the groundwork for today’s expanded programs.

In this community-based training model, students complete their first and second years at their home campuses, then come to Springfield for all or part of their third- and fourthyear clinical rotations. Clinical education is delivered by physician preceptors across Cox Health, Mercy, Jordan Valley, and select independent practices.

According to Trisha Riggs, EdD, MPH, Director of the Southwest Missouri Area Health Education Center (SWMO AHEC), physicians recall hosting students earlier; however, the earliest documentation she could confirm shows A.T. Still University–Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU) students rotating in Springfield in 1995. The establishment of SWMO AHEC in 1996 was a turning point, enabling a significant increase in the number of students completing rotations locally.

6 •JULY AUG 2026 • GCMS Journal

Since 1996, student placements coordinated by SWMO AHEC have grown steadily: • 1996: ATSU continues to coordinate student rotations through SWMO AHEC. • 1999: The University of Missouri School of MedicineColumbia began coordinating Springfield rotations through SWMO AHEC, a partnership that continued until the MU Springfield Clinical Campus launched in 2016.

• 2002: Kansas City University College of Osteopathic Medicine (KCU) began coordinating rotations for students through SWMO AHEC. • 2007: SWMO AHEC became a core site for KCU, enabling students to complete all of their third- and fourth-year rotations in the Springfield region.

In 2016, the University of Missouri School of Medicine established the Springfield Clinical Campus (MU SCC). As before, students completed pre-clinical years in Columbia and transitioned to Springfield for years three and four. The inaugural third-year class in 2016 was intentionally small (nine students) and expanded rapidly as the program scaled.

The Present: SWMO AHEC places an average of 20–25 medical students per year in Springfield and Bolivar. The primary medical school partners are ATSU and KCU, which now operates campuses in Kansas City and Joplin.

Since its launch in 2016, the MU Springfield Clinical Campus (MU SCC) has grown rapidly. The campus now educates 28 third-year and 28 fourth-year medical students and has graduated 170 students as of 2026. David Haustein, MD, MBA, Associate Dean of the MU SCC, reports that 40 percent of graduates who have completed residency training either remained in Missouri or returned to the state to practice, including 25 percent who are now practicing in southwest Missouri.

While detailed placement data for ATSU and KCU medical students in Springfield are not available, more than 30 MU SCC graduates have remained in Missouri for residency training. As additional residency programs come online in southwest Missouri, the proportion of Springfield-trained medical students who stay for residency should continue to rise—further strengthening the region’s physician pipeline.

The Future: The next phase of undergraduate medical education in Springfield will focus on deepening and widening this pipeline.

The recently announced plan for MU SCC to transition to a full four year campus beginning in 2027 will allow students to complete pre clinical and clinical training entirely in Springfield. In addition to increasing the annual class size to 32 students, a four year presence will strengthen early engagement with local health systems, expand opportunities for longitudinal curricula and community connections, and increase the likelihood that graduates view Springfield as their professional home.

Sustaining and enhancing medical education in Springfield will require two other parallel commitments. First, we must maintain—and, where possible, modestly increase—the number of medical students training in Springfield, preserving the community’s role and reputation as a regional hub for both allopathic and osteopathic medical education.

Second, we must recruit and develop additional clinical faculty across Cox Health, Mercy, Jordan Valley Health, and independent practices to support growing educational demands. Targeted recruitment in high need specialties, protected teaching time, and streamlined onboarding and faculty development will be essential to ensure quality, capacity, and a positive learner experience.

In summary, the strong foundation built by Springfield’s past and present engagement in medical education positions our community for a successful future. Decades of communitybased training, sustained academic–clinical partnerships, and expanding capacity have created the conditions for a durable, homegrown physician pipeline. By recruiting students from southwest Missouri, educating them here, and supporting them through residency in the region, we align the most reliable predictors of eventual practice location.

The result should be more physicians choosing to build their careers in southwest Missouri—and a stronger, more stable physician workforce for the communities we serve.

1. Barbe D. Graduate medical education (GME) in Springfield— Past, Present, and Future. Greene County Medical Society Journal.

2025;84(6):16-17.

Please see page 21 for photos of the University of Missouri Springfield Clinical Campus Ribbon Cutting Ceremony recognizing the transition to a full four year campus in 2027!

Get to Know Harold Bengsch, MSPH, APD Harold Bengsch was born and raised on a farm in western Christian County Missouri. He started school in a one room country school house that set on a portion of their farm. He graduated from Billings High School and went on to receive his bachelor's degree in agriculture from MSU and his Masters in Public Health Science from the University of Missouri.

After 45 years of continuous service in the field of Public Health, Harold retired in March of 2004 from Springfield/ Greene County, MO Department of Public Health and Welfare where he had spent the last 20 years as Director.

Harold has both authored and co-authored 17 published articles on public health, has served as a speaker at the state and national level on Homeland Security, Bio-terrorism, Environmental and Community Health Issues. He is pastpresident of the Missouri Public Health Association, the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) and is a recipient of numerous national and state awards. During his service as Director of Public Health for Springfield/Greene County, he helped that department in many collaborative ventures with the last being the development of a comprehensive bio-terrorism response plan for the county and region. Harold is a founding board member of the Homeland Security Board of Certification, a division of the

American College of Forensic Examiners Institute, and past chair of the Missouri State Board of Health. Harold currently serves of the Governor's Advisory Council on Homeland Security, co-chairs the State Children's Justice task force and the State Child Death Review Panel.

Harold also teaches in the Masters of Public Health Program at Missouri State University specializing in Public Health Administration and Community Leadership Skills.

Harold and his wife Darlene have been married 51 years. They have two daughters, Meschiel and Kena, four grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and are currently waiting on the arrival of a fifth great-grandchild in September.

Two days after his retirement in 2004, Harold filed for the office of Greene County Commissioner and was elected to that position in the November general election and was reelected in 2008.

JULY AUG 2026 • GCMS Journal • 7

An Interview with Harold Bengsch, Longtime Public Health Advocate

By Jim Blaine, MD

Jim: Please tell us what stands out over your 45-year career with the Springfield/Greene County Health Department.

Harold: One of the things that stands out is almost universal.

When I'm with a group of individuals, someone in the group will say: “What is this thing called public health?”

believe me, those illnesses were not without their problems. They’re very uncomfortable illnesses, and, at that age, they can be deadly. Unfortunately, severe illnesses did occur when I was a kid, and some unvaccinated youngsters just didn't survive.

Today, we see children avoiding those illnesses because their parents and their physician ensured them that getting the vaccination was the right thing to do for them to stay healthy and prevent those illnesses and the risks they bring.

We are very fortunate in this community to have a Public Health Department and we're also very fortunate in this community to have support from the Greene County Medical Society in many of our programs. It has been such a privilege as a Director of Health in this community to have the Medical Society working in tandem with the Health Department to bring about change and better understanding. It all points to credible scientific knowledge that moves through the community with new programs that serve the people.

Harold Bengsch

Making public health understandable is one of the most important things that a public health director must work on because it’s very easy to get things convoluted and misunderstood. I think the simplest way to address that is to say there are two words: public and health, and these are two distinct entities. The public is everybody and good health is what everybody wants to have.

Public health is the art of working together. One of the most important things to remember as the Public Health Director is to make sure that you have correct information because that will determine whether what you’re saying is believable and understandable.

So Jim, I guess I would say that Public Health is delivering an understandable message that will benefit the community and includes people from all walks of life. It all begins with prenatal care and then moves right on up to the end of life.

Jim: When did you first become aware of public health?

Harold: A long time ago! When I was eight years old and a third grader in a one room school, a doctor and nurse came to our school, and, for the first time, administered immunizations. Prior to that, I was one of those kids that got the immunization through getting the illness.

I had measles. I had mumps. I had whooping cough, and, 8 •JULY AUG 2026 • GCMS Journal

This is important because if the people aren't taking advantage of the program, then we have failed in part of our mission.In this community, we have that support from the Medical Society, and that has made my job a whole lot easier; you, physicians, made it all enjoyable and workable for us all!

Jim: Are there any programs over the years that stand out to you?

Harold: Yes, I probably think of several, but one that comes to mind quickly is the 1968 Hong Kong flu. Vaccine for the flu wasn't well understood or accepted at that time, and I was one of those who was brand new in public health. I thought, “I'll get my vaccine a little bit later.”

Well, I didn't get my vaccine a little bit later. I got Hong Kong flu a little bit later. Dr Blaine, I'll tell you what, I didn't care whether school kept or not. I just wanted to feel better and not have this high fever and aching. It was something else.

By the time, two years later, when the Russian flu epidemic hit, I had learned the hard way, and I got my vaccine.

We had tremendous support from the Nurses Association in this community, from the Medical Society supporting vaccination and saving lives as a result.

Across the nation, when a student contracted AIDS, the schools were almost to the point of closing their doors because so many people were afraid that it was contagious.

Fortunately, that did not happen in this community because we had an entire morning television block on an educational program on AIDS outlining what was being done in this community to combat false information about this disease.

This was in contrast to what many other communities were going through. Our success was because our School systems, the Medical Society, the Nurse's Association, and Public Health got the facts out and the message across. It really changed things in our community.

The AIDS project of the Ozarks was an outgrowth of this effort, and today it's a very stable, functioning entity that does tremendous work with individuals who have acquired this virus, and are in need of accurate information.

Recently, there as been concern about a Hantavirus outbreak. However, the public health departments, the medical community, and the media nationwide have done a good job preventing panic by assuring the community about this vector-born disease.

There was a situation in the latter part of the eighties which caused some concern in the dairy industry.

I received a phone call from the Food and Drug Administration. They were aware that there was a herd of cattle with Heptachlor contamination. Heptachlor is an insecticide used to kill fire ants and other pests and it

“They're our neighbors. Let’s help them!”

We were then able to isolate the dairy herds that had this contamination. The one thing that they had in common was that they had gotten their feed from the same source, and, when the feed was tested, it was positive for Heptachlor.

Now the next question was, “What was the source of the Heptachlor?” The answer begins with a barge going down a major river in Texas loaded with seed corn that was going to be planted to raise a springs crop, and the barge had gotten stuck in a sand bar and was being flooded with water. The seed corn had been treated with Heptachlor to prevent fire ants, but this was unknown until the use was diverted to cattle feed, and this resulted in a major issue for the dairy farmers of Northwest Arkansas. However, by feeding the cattle high doses of activated charcoal, we managed to get the Heptachlor neutralized. We had environmental inspectors trying to keep a thousand dairy farmers in the business of selling their milk, and we were successful in helping with that by working together.

Jim: Not many people may recall that, when the Child Advocacy Center began, it was actually housed at the Department of Health, thanks to you and your nurse, Elisa Coonrod.

Harold: That was a program that we really felt good about!

Once again, here is where the community comes together and worked for a common cause. A group of GCMS physicians and individuals concerned about the lack of care for the abused children researched the problem and got to work!

This group became known as a Child Advocacy Center Committee of Greene County.

The Springfield-Greene County Health Department (SGCHD) chose Mercy's Dr. James T. Rogers as its first-ever winner of the Harold K. Bengsch Award in 2017.

was found in the milk food chain. As a result the milk was going to have to be dumped. Fortunately, we were one of the few laboratories in the state that had the capacity of gas chromatography to actually test for these types of pesticides.

We had, at that time, almost a thousand grade A dairy farms under our inspection, but all of them with heptachlor were in Arkansas. This was creating a lot of concern because the Arkansas Health Department had closed their pesticide testing program the year before, and they didn't have capacity to do the tests. I got a call from them, and they said, “Harold, can you all help us here? We've really got a bad situation.” So I met with our city manager and he said,

The job was trying to find a way of providing medical care and counseling for the children and prosecution for their offenders. There was a vacant building close to the Health Department, and it was going to be torn down. I visited with the manager of the various unions in Springfield including construction steel workers, carpenters, and painters. He said, “Harold, is there something that needs to be done in this community that's not being done now?” That was then that a big light bulb flashed on, and I said, "There sure is!

We need to be able to address the problems and concerns surrounding child abuse and neglect in this community-The medical aspect of it, especially." And he said, “How could you do that?” And I said, “We have a building over here, and if you want to take a look at it, it would have to be remodeled into examination rooms.” So, he said, “Show it to me.” He didn't say much, but did say, “I'll be back in touch with you in about two weeks.” I got a call from him in two weeks and he said, “When can we move in and start remodeling that building?” And I said, “What?” And he said, “I have every type of worker willing to volunteer their time.”

Well, they did it. And you never saw so many things going on. They were working on that day and night and those fellows were amazing. We were fortunate to be able to open that facility up and we operated it almost two years while JULY AUG 2026 • GCMS Journal • 9

the Child Advocacy Center committee was actually working on a much larger building.

The new building expanded services to even more kids because we expanded our coverage to more than just Greene County. Currently, the Springfield Child Advocacy Center is the largest CAC in Missouri, covers 14 counties and since 1995, has seen over 26,000 abused children.

Jim, I’m glad you mentioned the CAC, because that showed the true effort of collaboration, and today, it's going through its third expansion, and is a model for other centers across the nation to see how this was done. The physicians of the Greene County Medical Society were a significant part of that and I'm certainly glad that I had the opportunity to be a part of it as well.

I know that the health department here for Springfield and Greene County has a very active program in getting that information out. And that's great.

Jim: Is there anything that you would like to add?

Harold: Well, you know, you let me start dreaming about what's happened over the past, and I'll be here all afternoon.

I would just sum that up as saying that one of the best things an active health department can do is to establish collaboration with all segments of the community and then work in cultivating those collaborations. And I see this strongly within the Medical Society of Greene County in its collaboration with the Health Department of Springfield/ Greene County.

Jim: It seemed like everyone in the community was involved in creating the CAC including the hospitals, the judges, law enforcement, the nurses, MSU, Prosecutors, CPO, United Way, the City Council, the Greene County Commission, the governor, etc.! My favorite Harold Bengsch quote is, “It is amazing what you can accomplish when you don’t care who gets the credit.” You have certainly practiced what you preach!

Jim: You were speaking earlier about challenges we are facing concerning vaccine hesitancy when politicians get involved with science. What advice do you have for us?

Harold: Jim, It's a very difficult thing to change opinions once they have been established. The concern over certain vaccines suffers from that issue. One of the foundations of public health is decision making based upon the sound science of epidemiology.

When the epidemiology is giving you the answers there are ways of checking that epidemiology to see whether those answers hold up under the greatest scrutiny, and that is what we do! However, whenever decisions are made based upon the latest story on TV, rather than sound epidemiology, the general public doesn't know who to believe. Changing attitudes once it's been fixed in a person's mind is pretty difficult, I think that is what we are beginning to see right now.

Jim: You are familiar with the new GCMS program “Ask Your Doctor.” Do you think that that has a place in combatting misinformation?

Harold: Dr. Blaine, I think that that could probably be the greatest way to get an accurate message to the public; and that is through their physician either in person or through the media. Now, it is sometimes a problem when people don't have a physician. And the “Ask Your Doctor” media program would help with that!

This is also where public health can also step in because it does have the ability to resource a lot of outlets that are more than willing to help move that information from the laboratory to the public.

10 •JULY AUG 2026 • GCMS Journal

Harold Bengsch at home in 2026.

The Waiting Room We Never See: Why Health Begins Long Before a Patient Meets a Physician

By Amy Blansit, DHSc, CEO of Drew Lewis Foundation

I have spent most of my professional life studying health.

I have taught it. Researched it. Built programs around it.

Advocated for it. Yet the most important lessons I have learned about health did not come from a textbook, research article, or conference. They came from sitting across a table from a mother nearly in tears talking about how she is doing everything right, yet at the end of the month there is no longer enough. They came from listening to someone explain why he missed his medical appointment because his car broke down.

They came from families working full-time jobs who still could not afford stable housing in our community.

For over a decade, my work at the Drew Lewis Foundation has focused on individuals and families living in what many of us call the “working poor” population—people who work hard, often multiple jobs, yet remain one unexpected expense away from crisis. And what I have learned is both simple and profound. I am sure most physicians know this lesson well– most of the health challenges seen in clinics are not primarily healthcare problems–they are life problems. And they began long before someone becomes a patient.

Of course, healthcare matters enormously. Physicians save lives every day. Medical advancements have transformed conditions that were once fatal into manageable diseases.

The expertise, commitment, and compassion of healthcare professionals remain essential. But healthcare alone cannot overcome the effects of unstable housing, food insecurity, financial stress, social isolation, adverse childhood experiences, or chronic uncertainty.

The evidence is clear. Health is influenced by far more than what happens in a clinic or hospital. While exact percentages vary among studies, public health researchers consistently demonstrate that medical care accounts for a small portion of overall health outcomes. Social, economic, environmental, and behavioral factors often play a much larger role.

In other words, prevention happens in neighborhoods. It happens in schools. It happens in workplaces. It happens around dinner tables. It happens in ZIP codes.

As healthcare leaders, we often discuss prevention in terms of screenings, vaccines, medications, and early interventions.

Those are critically important. But what if we expanded our definition of prevention?

What if stable housing was viewed as preventive medicine?

What if financial mobility was viewed as controlling blood pressure or managing diabetes?

What if community connection was viewed as a vaccine against isolation, despair, and chronic stress?

Because from what I have witnessed, they are.

Eight years ago, we began tracking outcomes among participants in our Reaching Independence through Support Education (RISE) program. RISE focuses on education, goal-setting, financial stability, career advancement, and long-term self-sufficiency.

What we expected to see were improvements in income, employment, and financial wellness. We saw those outcomes.

What we did not see—the only outcome that did not improve— were health outcomes and insurance coverage. What surprised us was how often participants reported a new awareness of their poor physical and mental health. Prior to finding improved financial stability, they did not have the bandwidth to focus on themselves. To stop and assess small nagging symptoms that had become health concerns. We developed a health committee and invited healthcare professionals to sit in our RISE classes. We discussed health and wellness more frequently. Finally, we started to see that as financial stress decreased, anxiety decreased. As housing became stable, sleep improved. As relationships strengthened, depression lessened. As hope increased, healthy behaviors became easier to sustain.

No physician wrote a prescription for those changes. Yet the health impacts were real. That experience reinforced something I had long studied—opportunity itself is a health intervention.

Hope is a health intervention.

Belonging is a health intervention.

For many families, the greatest barrier to health is not a lack of motivation or effort. It is the exhausting cognitive burden of survival. Imagine trying to manage diabetes while facing eviction. Imagine trying to follow a nutrition plan when your refrigerator is empty, or worse, full of the “affordable” American Diet staples. Imagine trying to prioritize preventive care when missing work means losing income needed to pay rent.

These are not hypothetical situations. They are daily realities for hundreds of thousands of families throughout southwest Missouri. And yet I remain extraordinarily optimistic. Because I have also witnessed what happens when barriers are removed.

I have seen parents return to college or training in their forties and fifties. I have seen individuals double their income. I have seen families move from eviction to homeownership. I have seen children who once struggled academically become leaders in their schools. I have seen people who had been defined by crisis become defined by contribution.

Not because they changed who they were. Because they finally had a pathway. This is perhaps the strongest belief I hold after JULY AUG 2026 • GCMS Journal • 11

years of community work: People are far more capable than their circumstances often allow them to demonstrate. When given opportunity, support, accountability, and connection, most people rise. Not all at the same pace. Not without setbacks. Not without challenges. But they rise.

As physicians, you witness this truth every day. You know the remarkable resilience of the human spirit. You see patients recover from devastating illnesses. You watch people overcome obstacles that once seemed impossible.

The same resilience exists outside the exam room. The challenge is that many systems are designed to react to problems rather than prevent them. Healthcare often bears the cost of that reality. Emergency departments see the consequences. Primary care physicians manage the consequences. Behavioral health providers manage the consequences. Hospitals absorb the consequences. Yet many of those consequences began years earlier through social and economic conditions that were never adequately addressed.

This is why I believe healthcare and community development must become increasingly interconnected. Physicians cannot solve housing instability. Nonprofits cannot solve health disparities. Schools cannot solve children arriving hungry.

But together, we can create systematic changes that move upstream. We can identify risk before it becomes crisis.

We can build communities where healthy choices become realistic choices. We can invest in conditions that allow health to flourish.

At the Drew Lewis Foundation, our work in affordable housing, workforce development, financial mobility, and community connection is ultimately health work. We may not wear white coats. We may not write prescriptions. But we are working toward many of the same outcomes physicians pursue every day. Longer quality life. Healthier families. Reduced suffering.

Greater well-being. Stronger communities.

To make that work tangible, it may be helpful to briefly explain what the Drew Lewis Foundation actually does. Our flagship program, Reaching Independence through Support and Education (RISE), is a long-term economic mobility program designed for individuals and families living paycheck to paycheck. Participants engage in education, coaching, accountability, financial literacy, career advancement, goal setting, and community support. The goal is not simply to help someone survive a crisis. The goal is to help them build a pathway out of crisis and into long-term stability.

Alongside RISE, our Blue House Project focuses on attainable homeownership and neighborhood revitalization. We renovate abandoned and deteriorated homes, develop new housing opportunities, and create pathways for working families to become homeowners. Stable housing is not simply a real estate outcome. It is a health outcome. It is a child attending the same school consistently. It is reduced stress. It is safer neighborhoods. It is better sleep. It is the foundation upon which families build healthier lives.

Together, these programs address what I believe are some of the most powerful upstream drivers of health; economic mobility, housing stability, social connection, and hope. While 12 •JULY AUG 2026 • GCMS Journal

we may describe them as community development initiatives, their impact is deeply connected to physical, mental, and behavioral health outcomes.

I often think about the phrase social determinants of health.

I studied it extensively. I developed programming from its constructs. It is a useful term. It is also a clinical term. What I see every day are simply determinants of opportunity. Can a child learn? Can a parent work? Can a family stay housed? Can a person access transportation? Can someone imagine and hope for a better future than their present?

The answers to those questions shape health outcomes as surely as blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood glucose levels. Perhaps the most encouraging part of this work is that solutions are possible. We do not have to accept poor health outcomes as inevitable. We do not have to accept poverty as destiny. We do not have to accept that ZIP Codes determine life expectancy.

Communities can change. Systems can improve. People can thrive. I know because I have spent my career watching it happen. As healthcare leaders, physicians possess tremendous influence. Your voices carry credibility. Your insights shape policy. Your advocacy changes systems. My hope is that we continue broadening the conversation about what health truly means. Not reducing the importance of medicine, but instead expand the definition of prevention.

Because health begins long before someone enters a clinic.

And if we are willing to work together upstream, we can build communities where fewer people need rescue downstream.

That is not only good public policy. It is good medicine.

Hopefully this perspective resonates with you. I encourage you to think about how healthcare and community development can become stronger partners. Physicians, healthcare systems, insurers, and medical leaders are uniquely positioned to help move this work forward. That may mean serving on a community board, sharing expertise, creating referral partnerships, advocating for policies that address social determinants of health, volunteering your time, or financially supporting organizations doing upstream prevention work.

In healthcare, we often talk about bending the cost curve.

Perhaps one of the most effective ways to do that is to prevent the need for expensive interventions in the first place. In fact, I sometimes joke that if organizations like mine are doing our jobs exceptionally well, we might help put portions of the healthcare industry out of business. Unfortunately I do not expect physicians will be looking for new careers anytime soon. But I do believe all of us would gladly trade a few fewer preventable illnesses, crises, and hospitalizations for healthier families and stronger communities.

The reality is that neither healthcare nor nonprofits can accomplish this work alone. But together, we can move further upstream, where the greatest opportunities for prevention exist and where the return on investment—both human and financial—is often greatest.

Allocation Drift: Set the Right Temperature for Your Portfolio

By Rohan Patel & Zach Swartz As seasons change, the temperature can fluctuate dramatically.

Maintaining a comfortable temperature inside your home requires your thermostat to balance heating and cooling. The thermostat doesn’t have opinions on the weather; rather, its role is to adjust to a comfortable target temperature. Building a balanced, well-diversified portfolio is similar. Setting a desired goal for investments and maintaining balance over time requires adjustments.

Once investment goals have been set, a portfolio can be constructed toward achieving those goals. A well-diversified portfolio typically holds multiple asset classes such as stocks, bonds, alternative assets, and cash. Each asset class plays a specific role in helping the portfolio reach its objectives. The distribution across asset classes is referred to as asset allocation, with the mix for each investor set based on desired risk and return characteristics. Developing and maintaining the appropriate asset allocation is critical to making sure assets align with an investor’s risk profile and goals.

A common occurrence that investors may encounter is deviation from established asset allocation targets. This article examines this phenomenon, which is commonly known as allocation drift. Calculated and timely actions are needed to maintain the right asset allocation mix.

What Is Allocation Drift & What Causes it?

Allocation drift occurs when a portfolio deviates from the investor’s established asset allocation targets. If not addressed, the investor may be exposed to more risk than is appropriate or might have less growth potential than is required to achieve their investment goals.

For example, a common balanced portfolio reference is 60% invested in stocks and 40% to bonds. Because stocks and bonds can produce materially different returns over time, this allocation can change. For example, if stock returns are substantially higher than bond returns for a period of time, the allocation could reach 80% stocks and 20% bonds.

This new allocation would increase risk beyond what is appropriate and intended. For the balanced investor, this higher-risk portfolio would produce unwanted results in the event of a meaningful stock market decline.

How Does One Address Allocation Drift?

When a portfolio drifts from its target allocation, repositioning from the asset classes that have experienced more rapid appreciation toward those that have appreciated less will bring the portfolio back in line.

This action is called rebalancing. The two most common approaches to rebalancing are based on frequency and allocation thresholds.

Frequencies Calendar-based rebalancing uses set frequencies of time for reviewing and rebalancing the portfolio. For example, reviews could occur quarterly, semiannually, or annually. The simplicity of having a set review cycle makes it easy to implement. However, this approach can be susceptible to rebalancing at an inopportune time or missing interim opportunities for rebalancing. Rebalancing more frequently than quarterly is typically not recommended, as trading may become excessive.

Thresholds Threshold-based rebalancing uses established ranges around each asset class target to trigger rebalancing. When the allocation drifts outside of the acceptable range, rebalancing occurs to bring the portfolio back to target. Setting proper ranges is crucial. If the range is too narrow, rebalancing will occur too often. If the range is too wide, the portfolio may not be rebalanced often enough. Using the simple 60% stock and 40% bond example, a 5% threshold could be established. This would allow stocks to fluctuate between 55% to 65% while bonds could fluctuate from 35% to 45%. When the allocations are within these ranges, no rebalancing occurs. When asset classes move outside of these ranges, the portfolio would be rebalanced back to the original targets. This framework requires ongoing monitoring to detect times when the portfolio exceeds the thresholds.

Other Considerations Rebalancing is a relatively simple and effective process, but there are things to keep in mind to help avoid unexpected consequences.

Rebalancing requires selling higher-performing securities to purchase lower-performing securities. Those higher-performing securities likely have embedded capital gains that would be realized by selling. Realizing gains is a natural part of investing and should not be viewed negatively.

Rather, it is a consequence of an investment generating a positive return.

Setting an annual capital gains budget can help address this aspect of maintaining and rebalancing an investment portfolio. However, each investor should consult with their tax advisor annually to consider the specifics of their tax situation.

Setting a comfortable “temperature” for your portfolio and maintaining it throughout changing investment seasons is important. A key part of portfolio discipline is regularly rebalancing to the target allocation. Not only does this naturally result in “selling high” and “buying low,” but it also keeps the portfolio risk profile consistent throughout market cycles. This process helps investors avoid emotional decision making, which should lead to improved long-term investment results.

How Forvis Mazars Can Help After multiple years of above-average stock returns, many investment portfolios may be out of alignment with goals and objectives. Now is a great time to review for possible rebalancing opportunities. If you have questions or need assistance with your investment portfolio, please reach out to a professional with Forvis Mazars Private Client™.

Forvis Mazars Private Client services may include investment advisory services provided by Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser, and/or accounting, tax, and related solutions provided by Forvis Mazars, LLP. The information in this commentary should not be considered investment advice to you, nor an offer to buy or sell any securities or financial instruments. The services, or investment strategies mentioned in this commentary may not be available to, or suitable, for you. Consult a financial advisor or tax professional before implementing any investment, tax or other strategy mentioned herein. The information herein is believed to be accurate as of the time it is presented and it may become inaccurate or outdated with the passage of time. Past performance does not guarantee future performance. All investments may lose money.

JULY AUG 2026 • GCMS Journal • 13

Introducing the Centerstone Youth Resiliency Campus

By Clay Goddard, President, Centerstone Missouri Southwest Region

In June, Centerstone’s Youth Resiliency Campus opened its doors in north Springfield, at 2748 N. National Ave. The YRC is a major investment in enhancing and expanding behavioral health care opportunities for some of our most vulnerable patients, and it was built with the purpose and promise of helping them at an early stage to improve outcomes through the course of their lives.

This campus was built in response to a clear need: young people and families deserve access to timely, connected behavioral health support close to home.

We are grateful to the Greene County Commission, the Missouri Department of Mental Health, the Missouri General Assembly, and the many community partners who helped make this resource possible.

call. It is designed to remove barriers, make crisis care easy to access, and to point patients to care that will help them address their challenges and needs before reaching a crisis state again.

The behavioral health crisis center will be open round-theclock, every day of the year for patients ages 12-17.9 at risk of harming themselves or another person. Crisis center clients are treated for up to 23 hours at a time. The Behavioral Health Crisis Center, located at 800 S. Park Ave., remains open 24/7, 365 for ages 18 and up in need of crisis care.

To begin in June, the Youth Behavioral Health Crisis Center is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day. It will ultimately offer 24-hour-a-day care 365 days per year. Services offered in the center include crisis intervention, connection to care, ongoing support, medication provider access, peer support services, nursing, and support for families.

For young people and families in crisis, this campus offers multiple options for care and support when needed most.

Centerstone hosted a grand opening for its Youth Resiliency Campus in Springfield April 9. The 27,858-square foot building houses a youth behavioral health crisis center, an intensive outpatient treatment center and a youth residential treatment center for individuals ages 13-17.

The first patients to step through the YRC’s doors were the teens from our Youth Residential Program, who moved there from our Milano House on Friday, June 12. Milano has been a special, life-saving space for many of our community’s youths who have often experienced traumatic events and challenging social environments early in life.

At the YRC, we will be able to expand on Milano’s purpose and offer more independence and personal space for our patients at the same time. Each youth in our new space gets their own bedroom, rather than often sharing dorm space at Milano.

They will have access to art, music, and outdoor therapy at their fingertips, along with care from our world-class multidisciplinary treatment team that includes psychiatry, therapy, nursing, case management, education, Person Brain based therapeutic programming, peer support, and high levels of family engagement.

Our dedicated staff at the YRC bring this level of care and compassion to all of the programs that will be housed at our newest location, including a first-of-its kind offering in southwest Missouri, the Youth Behavioral Health Crisis Center.

The crisis center team is available to help youth patients in need on a walk-in basis without an appointment or a phone 14 •JULY AUG 2026 • GCMS Journal

Along with the crisis center, the current list of programs housed at the YRC includes the following: Partial Hospitalization Program - A highly structured, intensive day program offering five-plus hours of clinical treatment and skill building for youth five days a week. The program is designed to assist youth who struggle in a community or school setting, with the goal of stabilizing behaviors and working toward reintegration in such settings.

Intensive Outpatient Program – A flexible, three-days-perweek program delivering evidence-based mental health treatment for youth alongside active parent involvement.

The program is designed to assist youth that might do well with a structured environment, like school, but struggle with unstructured time in the evening.

Multisystemic Therapy (MST) – An intensive, in-home, familyfocused intervention that addresses the multiple systems influencing youth behavior to keep them safely at home and in school. MST is a flexible service designed to last three-five months, allowing families to receive intensive treatment multiple days a week, any time of day.

Youth Residential Treatment Program – A trauma-informed, clinically intensive residential program for youth ages 13–17 who need a safe, supportive environment when less-restrictive options are not sufficient. Dialectical Behavior Therapy, which helps patients manage their thoughts, emotions, and relationships, is the program’s primary treatment model.

DBT is supplemented by client-centered approaches such as multicultural counseling, expressive therapy, nature therapy, psychoeducation, and skills groups.

If you have a patient who may benefit from one these services, referrals can be made through our walk-in Connection Center located in Building A on our Main Campus, 1300 E. Bradford Pkwy., or by calling 417-761-5000. The direct line for our youth crisis center is 417-761-5368. Please continue to call or text 988 if you or a loved one is experiencing a crisis.

Once again, we want to thank all our community and state partners who saw the promise of this campus and helped us open its doors. We are ready to serve at Centerstone’s Youth Resiliency Campus.

The $13 million Youth Resiliency Campus construction is funded in part by a $5.3 million American Recovery Plan Act allocation from Greene County, $5 million allocated for the residential treatment center in the Missouri state budget for 2025-2026 and $1 million from the Missouri Department of Mental Health.

Customized advice that changes with your needs.

Everyone has different financial goals and priorities, and they change and grow as you do. That’s why it’s important for me to get to know you and understand what you’re working toward. Together, we can create a personalized financial plan that fits your needs today and helps you build the tomorrow you deserve.

Ron Penney, CFP®, ChFC® Private Wealth Advisor Penney, Murray & Associates A private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC 417.881.9200 1342 E Kingsley St, Ste E, Springfield, MO 65804 ron.c.penney@ampf.com ameripriseadvisors.com/ron.c.penney Not FDIC or NCUA Insured | No Financial Institution Guarantee | May Lose Value AR license #235655 Investment advisory products and services are made available through Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC, a registered investment adviser.

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and CFP (with plaque design) in the U.S. Ameriprise Financial cannot guarantee future financial results.

Securities offered by Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC. Member FINRA and SIPC. JULY AUG 2026 • GCMS Journal • 15 © 2025 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. All rights reserved.

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With Private Banking at Central Bank, you have exclusive access to a host of financial services and products, where we take care of the details across the full spectrum of the bank. You will have access to higher deposit rates, custom credit solutions and home financing, as well as individualized guidance with your investments. Our main goal is to help you maximize your money seamlessly. You have complex needs. We have the concierge level solutions you want.

STEVE GASSEL Senior Vice President - Director of Private Banking | NMLS # 554828 3333 S. National Ave., Springfield, MO 65807 Phone: (417) 841-4213 Steve.Gassel@centralbank.net KARA TURNER Vice President - Private Banking | NMLS # 1833785 3333 S. National Ave., Springfield, MO 65807 Phone: (417) 841-4253 Kara.Turner@centralbank.net JOYCE WONG-HSU Officer - Private Banking | NMLS # 1239617 3333 S. National Ave., Springfield, MO 65807 Phone: (417) 841-4214 Joyce.Wong-Hsu@centralbank.net

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The Dangerous Truth About Today's Marijuana

By Laur Stack, Johnny's Ambassadors

My 19 year old son, Johnny, died by suicide after he became psychotic from using high potency THC vapes, wax, and marijuana. Her started it at age 14, after marijuana was first legalized in our home state of Colorado. He got his first marijuana from a friend's older brother, who had a "medical" marijuana card. Johnny got his own "medical" marijuana card at 18 years old from an unknown doctor. He had no mental condition- he just wanted to get high with his friends.

schoolers. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment started tracking "dabbing" on it's annual Health Kids Colorado Survey. I'd never heard of concentrates and didn't know a "dab" of marijuana from a dance move. In fact, it wasn't until Johnny left for his scholarship at Colorado State University that we found a "Nectar Collector" in his dorm room and asked his roommate, "What is this stuff?" "Dabs," he replied.

Dabs are usually called by their consistency, such as shatter, wax, budder, sugar, live resin, or honey. Many advocates defend dabbing as no worse than smoking pot. But dabbing is far more potent and carries alot more risk for mental illness and addiction than smoking. Even the plant today is considered high potency. You can't find Woodstock weed any longer. THC potency isn't restricted.

A dab of 80% concentrate contains as much THC as 50 marijuana joints at 2% THC when I was a kid in the 80's. These products aren't natural. Concentrates are to marijuana what crack is to cocaine. For example, one serving of an edible in Colorado is 10 mg. But in one gram of 80% wax or oil in a cart, there is 800 mg of THC.

19 year old Johnny Stack

According to the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, out of nearly 3 million past-year cannibus users age 12 to 17, almost 45% have Cannabis Use Disorder, or addiction. Problematic use is particularly damaging to young people whose brains are still forming into their late 20s. Marijuana, whether obtained witha medical marijuana card or purchased illegally for recreational use, can harm the mental and physical health of young people.

High THC Concentrates Today's marijuana plant is very high in THC content (Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the euphoeia producing-addicting substance in cannabis products), and the products derived from it (vapes, wax, and edibles) are even higher in THC. Even where marijuana is illegal, Delta-8-THC and other THC products derived from hemp(now illegal under new legislation) are widespread.

Hash Oil is a concentrated cannabis extract that can be smoked, vaped, eaten, or rubbed onto skin. Hash Oil products first appeared around 2010. Medical pot dispensaries began to carry early versions known as budders, saps, and waxes.

They weren't common in 2012 when voters in Colorado legalized recreational marijuana. But by 2015, these novel high-potency waxes and extracts were being used by high

High Potency THC Users Are Getting Younger In addition to no regulatory oversight, here's what's worse, vaping and dabbing have become popular among very young people. Many kids start dabbing by age 14, with the age of initiation in middle school. Most of the time, their parents don't have a clue. Dab vapor doesn't have the skunky smell most marijuana smoke has. It may not even have a scent at all, so kids can do it behind their parents' backs at home and their teachers' backs in school. Vaping THC doesn't always make your breath stink in the same way tobacco and grass do, so they don't have to be quite as sneaky. Vaping devices can look just like nicotine vaping devices, so check the cartridges.

JULY AUG 2026 • GCMS Journal • 17

They may tell you they are "just vaping," but be aware they could be vaping THC. "Vaping" can refer to nicotine or THC while dabbing is only marijuana.

Many Parents think their child is just being a typical teen.

Or it's just a phase he will outgrow. Or maybe they think it's harmless because it's legal. Perhap's you used it when you were a kid, and it didn't hurt you. Maybe you think your student is getting straight As, so marijuana isn't affecting him or her. Or your kid wouldn't do that because you go to church. Well, I used to think all of that, too. Many parents think it's harmless until it affects their child.

Until the mid-to-late 20s, a person's brain is still developing, and intoxicants can damage brain development. Hence, one reason why 21 is the legal age for alcohol, pot, and cigarettes.

Except "medical" marijuana when the legal age is 18, which is an oxymoron because cannabis has not been approved by the FDA as medicine. Numerous medical studies show dabbing can slow mental devleopment, cause anxiety and

18 •JULY AUG 2026 • GCMS Journal

depression, and trigger schizophrenia. And these mental illnesses can lead to suicide. According to the Colorado Violent Death Reporting System, the number one cause of death in Colorado for youth ages 15-18 is suicide, and the number one substance found in their toxicology reports is THC. Through our family's tragic tale and nonprofit work, we hope to raise awareness on the dangers of youth THC misuse and keep other teens from following Johnny's path.

(316) 712-1821 Dustin Roy Gaines

JULY AUG 2026 • GCMS Journal • 19

Paging Dr. H.E.N.R.Y: Lowering Lifestyle Inflation to Regain Financial Security

By Rhonda Sorensen, Private Banking Manager for Arvest Bank – Springfield Region

Getting a raise or making upward career moves often comes with more challenges as people raise their standard of living and their living expenses. Left unchecked, earning more money may lead to more problems like lifestyle creep for high-earning not-yet-rich (H.E.N.R.Y.) individuals, including medical professionals.

Lifestyle creep or inflation occurs when people allow their spending to increase as their discretionary income rises, often turning former luxury items into necessary expenses before they realize it. Incremental lifestyle upgrades often silently consume surplus funds from a high salary, leading to increased feelings of financial insecurity. In a Bankrate survey from mid-2025, less than half of Americans making $100,000 or more per year indicated that they felt completely financially secure. Between inflation, lifestyle creep and rising costs, top earners living paycheck to paycheck is becoming an increasingly common occurrence.

Avoiding this predicament altogether is the best-case scenario, but what should high-earning medical professionals do if they find themselves to be victims of lifestyle creep?

Understanding that wealth is the difference between what you earn and what you spend is a good place to start, but shifting from focusing on past mistakes to working toward reclaiming the financial freedom and security a high salary should provide. Here are some recommendations to reverse the creep and begin realigning your financial situation.

Audit fixed costs.

Financial realignment may not be as out of reach as it seems, and everyone has to start somewhere. An audit of your spending will help you determine your fixed costs (what you must spend) and your variable expenses (what you want to spend money on). A good place to start is to divide your fixed costs into four categories: housing, health, basic transportation, and savings. Anything outside of that is a variable expense.

Auditing fixed costs can help identify expenses that are hard to change once committed to, such as auto and mortgage loan payments, and determine the feasibility of refinancing loans or downsizing to a smaller house or apartment.

Reframe budgeting.

Now that you’ve identified your fixed costs and your variable expenses, it’s time to rethink your budget. The goal is to pare down expenses and focus on paying down any debt accrued due to lifestyle creep. What subscriptions or monthly habits do you need to modify or cancel to help make payments toward your debt or free up money for emergency savings?

20 •JULY AUG 2026 • GCMS Journal

The costs of goods and basic services increase annually, though some faster than others. Continuing to increase spending on wants before factoring in the rising costs of needs can cause struggles with feeling financially secure.

Automating bill payments, savings and investments can help you redefine disposable income in each paycheck.

Avoid future “creep.”

Once you’ve taken the time to reset your budget and financial lifestyle, it’s important not to fall back into old habits. Medical professionals who are still advancing in their careers may want to consider investing or saving 50% of every future raise or bonus, leaving the additional 50% for necessary lifestyle improvements. Prioritizing liquid assets requires shifting from high income to owning assets that produce income, but it can reduce work-related burnout.

For high-earning medical professionals, the signs of lifestyle creep can be subtle: always wanting the latest technology; upgrading to a nicer car or house; even going out for expensive dinners. There’s nothing wrong with splurging once in a while, but it can be hard to give up those luxuries once they become a habit.

If you find yourself in need of a financial reset or are worried about succumbing to lifestyle inflation as your career progresses, don’t try to handle everything yourself. A trusted financial professional can help you manage wealth, build financial security and create peace of mind.

Rhonda Sorensen is a private banking manager for Arvest Bank – Springfield Region. She can be reached at rsorensen@arvest.com.

University of Missouri School of Medicine Springfield Clinical Campus Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

Former Greene County Commissioner and current Missouri State Senator Lincoln Hough

Left to right: Cox Health President and Chief Executive Officer Max Buetow, Mercy Chief Medical Officer Sadaf Sohrab, MD, FCCP, Mercy Hospital President of Springfield Communities John Myers, and University of Missouri President Dr. Mun Y. Choi, PHD

MU Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and Dean of the MU School of Medicine Richard J. Barohn, MD and MU School of Medicine Springfield campus Associate Dean David Haustein, MD cutting the ribbon to celebrate the transition to a full four-year medical school in Springfield.

JULY AUG 2026 • GCMS Journal • 21

GCMS Rocky Mountain Medicine 2026

Stephanie Hurt and Gretchen Cliburn with Forvis Mazars

22 •JULY AUG 2026 • GCMS Journal

Dr. Karim Moukrime and Vu Le, MD

GCMS President Melissa Gaines, MD with husband Dusty Gaines on their 16th wedding anniversary

One of many Elk that wandered through Estes Park

Steve Zinter, MD and mother Susan

JULY AUG 2026 • GCMS Journal • 23

Minh-Thu Le, MD

Kyle John, MD with his wife Melissa Bondy James T. Rogers, MD and wife Lori

24 •JULY AUG 2026 • GCMS Journal

Typical Elk movement through Estes Park

25 •JULY AUG 2026 • GCMS Journal

Jerry and Jean Harmison fly fishing at Fall River.

26 •JULY AUG 2026 • GCMS Journal

A Poem by former Springfield mayor Bob Stephens

By Jim Blaine, MD

Former Springfield Mayor Robert (Bob) Stephens was Mayor of Springfield 2012-17, and during that time, collaborated with the GCMS on several public health projects including tobacco exposure. However, it was in 2021 that he came to lead a COVID Mobile Vaccination Unit joint effort by the Jordan Valley Community Health Center, Springfield/ Greene County Health Department, Greene County Medical Society, and the United Way "Give 5" program to provide mobile vaccinations county wide. This also included elderly populations, churches, and schools. Bob was chosen

because "he knows everybody and they know and trust him." Bob has written a book titled, "Accidental Odysseys - the Journey Fighting a Pandemic." He calls that experience, "The most rewarding professional assignment of my life."

We certainly chose the right person for the job!

Here is his poem:

Bob Stephens

27 •JULY AUG 2026 • GCMS Journal

Congratulations to the 2026 Paul Carrick Trust Grant Recipients

Left to right: Keith LaFerriere, MD, Rachelene Middleton, MD, James Rogers, MD, Kayce Morton, DO, David Haustein, MD, MBA, Melissa Gaines, MD, Barbara Hover, Jim Blaine, MD, Michael Ashley, MD, Not Pictured: Jacob Thomas, MD and Patricia Dix, MD

Left to right: Michael Ashley, MD, James Rogers, MD, Jim Blaine, MD, Patricia Dix, MD, Melissa Gaines, MD, Stephanie Matthews, Elizabeth Van Ness, Jacob Thomas, MD and Vu Le, MD

Left to right: Dr. Bethany Scanlon, Jacob Thomas, MD, Owen Cornell, Dr. Jeff Frederick, Kaiden Kristek, Jean Harmison, Jim Blaine, MD, Michael Ashley, MD

professional directory

To Advertise in this directory call Jean Harmison at the Society office: 417-887-1017.

Please Note: Changes to ads will be made quarterly and must be submitted in writing.

H Denotes GCMS Membership “A” Denotes GCMS Applicant GCMS Member Ad Rates: $10.00 per 2” sq. • Non-Member Ad Rates: $13.75 per 2”sq.

Direct Primary Care ASCENT DIRECT PRIMARY CARE, LLC MATTHEW GREEN, DO H

Mission Statement

Bringing physicians together to improve the health of our community.

Dermatology, Procedural

MICHAEL H. SWANN, MD ELIZABETH SPENCERI, MD MICHAEL KREMER, MD JOHN CANGELOSI, MD AUTUMN BERTHOLDI, PA-C PATSY DUGGAN, PA-C LORI MILLER, NP-C HANNAH LEE, FNP-BC BROOKLYN FORT, FNP-C 3850 S. National Ave, Suite 705 Springfield, MO 65807 (Located inside Hulston Cancer Building-7th floor) 1240 E. Independence Springfield, MO 65804 Phone: 417-888-0858 • Fax: 417-889-0476 www.swanndermatology.com Hollister Location 590 Birch Rd, Ste 2c Hollister, MO 65672 PH. 417-690-3858 Fax 417-690-3862 Monett Satellite Location (Inside CoxHealth Urgent Care) 2200 E. Cleveland Ave Monett, MO 65708 Phone: 417-888-0858 • Fax: 417-889-0476 Lebanon Location 331 Hospital Drive Suite C Lebanon, MO 65536 Phone : 417-344-7200 Fax : 417-344-7299

Family Medicine www.ascentdpc.com 417-595-0956 413 N McCroskey, Ste 2 Nixa, MO 65714

Family Medicine COXHEALTH FAMILY MEDICINE RESIDENCY FAMILY MEDICAL CARE CENTER 3800 S National Ste 700 Springfield, MO 65807 (417) 269-8817 American Board of Family Medicine

Eye Surgery/Ophthalmology EYE SURGEONS OF SPRINGFIELD, INC. C. BYRON FAULKNER, MD H

Comprehensive Cataract Ophthalmology

JUDD L. McNAUGHTON, MD H

Comprehensive Cataract Ophthalmology Diplomates, American Board of Ophthalmology 1330 E. Kingsley St. • Springfield, MO 65804

Marc Carrigan, MD Cameron Crymes, MD Kristin Crymes, DO Kristen Glover, MD Kyle Griffin, MD Shelby Hahn, MD Laura Isaacson, DO Evan Johnson, MD Katie Davenport-Kabonic, DO Michael Kabonic, DO Jessica Standeford, MD

Phone 417-887-1965 • Fax 417-887-6499 417eyecare.com

Eye Surgery/Ophthalmology MATTAX • NEU • PRATER EYE CENTER JAMES B. MATTAX, JR., MD, FACS …

American Board of Ophthalmology

LEO T. NEU III, MD, FACS H American Board of Ophthalmology

DAVID NASRAZADANI, MD American Board of Ophthalmology

DREW A. YOUNG, MD

Gynecology WOMAN’S CLINIC

www.womansclinic.net Leaders in Minimally Invasive Gynecology & Infertility

DONALD P. KRATZ, MD, FACOG H

American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology

AMY LINN, FNP-BC

American Academy of Family Nurse Practitioners

ANGIE JONES, WHNP-BC

THOMAS PRATER, MD, FACS H

1135 E. Lakewood, Suite 112 Springfield, MO 65810

JACOB K. THOMAS, FACS, MD H American Board of Ophthalmology

BENJAMIN P. HADEN, MD H American Board of Ophthalmology

MICHAEL S. ENGLEMAN, OD MARLA C. SMITH, OD MATTHEW T. SMITH, OD 1265 E. Primrose Springfield, MO 65804 417-886-3937 • 800-995-3180

MERCY CLINIC– INTERNAL MEDICINE WHITESIDE RAJ ANAND, MD JAMES T. ROGERS, JR. MD, FACP H Board Certified in Internal Medicine

MARIA DELA ROSA, MD

NELSON DELA ROSA, MD AMANDA MCALISTER, MD ALEJANDRA ROA, MD KELLY TRYGG, MD GABBY BONNER, NP STEVEN BOWLIN, MD Board Certified in Internal Medicine

STEPHANIE HOVE, NP CARRIE KUGLER, PA COURTNEY WEATHERFORD, PA JENNIFER WHITE, PA VICTOR GOMEZ, MD

American Board of Ophthalmology

American Board of Ophthalmology

Internal Medicine

Located inside Tri-Lakes Family Care 1065 Hwy 248 Branson, MO 65616 Phone 417-887-5500 Fax 883-8964 or toll free 877-966-2607 Monday-Thursday 8am-4:30pm Friday 8am-12pm

Board Certified in Internal Medicinee

2115 S. Fremont, Suite 2300 Springfield, MO 65804 Phone 417-820-5600 Fax 417-820-5606

Urology

MERCY CLINIC UROLOGY (FREMONT) ERIC P. GUILLIAMS, MD, FACS H

American Board of Urology

ROBERT D. JOHNSON, MD, FACS H

American Board of Urology

TYRUN K RICHARDSON, MD American Board of Urology

Phone 417-820-0300 Fax 417-882-9645 1965 S Fremont, Ste. 370 Springfield, MO 65804

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Internal Medicine ADULT MEDICINE & ENDOCRINOLOGY JONBEN D. SVOBODA, MD, FACE, ECNU American Board of Endocrinology JAMES T. BONUCCHI, DO, ECNU, FACE American Board of Endocrinology NICOLA W. GATHAIYA, MD, ECNU, FACE, CCD American Board of Internal Medicine American Board of Endocrinology STEPHEN M. REEDER, MD, FACP American Board of Internal Medicine ANA MARCELLA RIVAS MEJIA, MD, CCD American Board of Internal Medicine American Board of Endocrinology JACQUELINE L. COOK, FNP-BC, CDCES, CCD KELLEY R. JENKINS, FNP-C, CDCES ALINA CUMMINS, PA-C

Neurosurgery SPRINGFIELD NEUROLOGICAL AND SPINE INSTITUTE CoxHealth Jared Neuroscience West Tower • 3801 S National, Ste 700 Springfield, MO 65807 • 417-885-3888

Neurosurgery: VYACHESLAV MAKLER, DO EDWIN J. CUNNINGHAM, MD MAYUR JAYARAO, MD J. CHARLES MACE, MD, FACS H CHAD J. MORGAN, MD MICHAEL L. MUMERT, MD SALIM RAHMAN, MD, FACS ANGELA SPURGEON, DO ROBERT STRANG, MD

Interventional Neuroradiology MICHAEL J. WORKMAN, MD

Physiatry: TED A. LENNARD, MD KELLY OWN, MD

STACY GHOLZ, FNP-C

JESSE STOKKE, DO

SHELLEY L. CARTER, DNP

Physician Assistants:

JESSICA A. CROUCH, FNP-C Phone (417) 269-4450

JOSHUA BARBIERI, PA-C MARK BROWN, PA-C ERIC CHAVEZ, PA-C

960 E. Walnut Lawn, Suite 201

KEVIN STOKES, PA-C

Springfield, MO 65807

HEATHER TACKETT, PA-C

Nurse Practitioner:

Nephrology

EMILY CROUSE, NP-C MINDY GRANT, NP-C ROZLYN MCTEER, FNP BRANDON RUBLE, ACNP-AG ALYSSA CHASTAIN, FNP

Obstetrics/Gynecology SPRINGFIELD NEPHROLOGY ASSOCIATES, INC. 1911 South National, Suite 301 Springfield, MO 65804 Phone 417-886-5000 • Fax 417-886-1100 www.springfieldnephrology.com

COXHEALTH PRIMROSE OB/GYN MARCUS D. MCCORCLE, MD, FACOG Diplomate, American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology

THOMAS M. SHULTZ, MD, FACOG

STEPHEN E. GARCIA, MD H

Diplomate, American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology

ETHAN T. HOERSCHGEN, MD

GREGORY S. STAMPS, MD, FACOG

American Board of Internal Medicine American Board of Nephrology American Board of Internal Medicine American Board of Nephrology

GISELLE D. KOHLER, MD H

American Board of Internal Medicine American Board of Nephrology

Diplomate, American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology

P. MICHAEL KIDDER, DO, FACOOG

DAVID L. SOMMERFIELD, MD

Diplomate, American Osteopathic Board of Obstetrics & Gynecology

SUSAN A. WOODY, DO H

Phone 882-6900 1000 E. Primrose • Suite 270 Springfield, MO 65807

American Board of Internal Medicine American Board of Nephrology American Board of Internal Medicine American Board of Nephrology

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Obstetrics/Gynecology SPRINGFIELD OB/GYN, LLC MATTHEW H. TING, MD, FACOG H American Board of Obstetrics & Gynecology

909 E. Montclair, Suite 120 Springfield, MO 65807 Phone 417/882-4466 • Fax 417/890-5631

Oncology/Hematology ONCOLOGYHEMATOLOGY ASSOCIATES OF SPRINGFIELD, MD, P.C. WILLIAM F. CUNNINGHAM, MD, FACP

American Board of Internal Medicine American Board of Medical Oncology

JIANTAO DING, MD H

Otolaryngology

MERCY CLINIC– EAR, NOSE & THROAT BENJAMIN L. HODNETT, MD, PHD H ERICH D. MERTENSMEYER, DO, FAOCOO AARON R. MORRISON, MD RAJEEV MASSON, MD MARK J. VAN ESS, DO, FAOCOO Diplomates, American Board of Otolaryngology

SHELBY BRITT, PA MELISSA COONS, FNP TAHRA LOCK, NP ELIZABETH (BETSY) MULLINGS, FNP

American Board of Internal Medicine American Board of Hematology American Board of Medical Oncology

PAUL STRECKER, FNP

ROBERT J. ELLIS, MD, FACP

JASON BOX, AuD, CCC-A

American Board of Internal Medicine American Board of Hematology American Board of Medical Oncology

BROOKE GILLETT, DO

American Board of Internal Medicine American Board of Medical Oncology

V. ROGER HOLDEN, MD, PhD

American Board of Hematology American Board of Medical Oncology

Audiology

MAMIE JAYCOX, AuD, CCC-A JENNIFER PLOCH, AUD ALLISON WHITE, AUD, CCC-A Phone 417-820-5750 Fax 417-820-5066 1229 E. Seminole, Ste. 520 Springfield, MO 65804

DUSHYANT VERMA, MD, FACP

American Board of Internal Medicine American Board of Hematology American Board of Medical Oncology

Springfield Clinic 3850 S. National, Ste. 600 Springfield, Missouri 65807 Monett Clinic 802 US Hwy 60 Monett, Missouri 65708 Phone 882-4880 Fax 882-7843 Visit our website: www.ohaclinic.com

Plastic Surgery

MERCY CLINIC– FACIAL PLASTIC SURGERY MATTHEW A. KIENSTRA, MD, FACS

American Board of Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery American Board of Otolaryngology

Phone 417-887-3223

1965 S. Fremont, Ste. 120 Springfield, MO 65804 facialplasticsurgeon.com

Psychiatry JAMES E. BRIGHT, MD H Diplomate, American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology.

Practice Limited to: Adult Psychiatry Phone 882-9002 1736 E. Sunshine, Ste. 400 Springfield, MO 65804

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GREENE COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY 4730 S NATIONAL AVE, SUITE A1 SPRINGFIELD, MO 65810 Change Service Requested

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PRSTD STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 816 SPRINGFIELD, MO.