Small Medical Team has
BIG Impact on Willcox
W Dawn Walker, D.O., outside of Walker Family Medicine in Willcox, AZ.
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hen Dr. Dawn Walker first arrived in Willcox, the doctor of osteopathic medicine was one of eight physicians in this rural southeast Arizona town best known for its ranching, farming, and singing cowboy movie star. About two decades later, the owner of Walker Family Medicine and chief of staff at Northern Cochise Community Hospital is currently the only physician—MD or DO— providing daily primary care services. Willcox has a 24-bed critical access hospital with emergency services, and nurse practitioners serve at both Walker’s office and the two rural health clinics operated by the hospital. Chiricahua Community Health Centers, a nonprofit federally qualified health center, provides preventative and
A R I ZO N A P H Y S I C I A N M A G A Z I N E
primary care services in the area a couple of days a week through a mobile unit. But since April, the hospital’s two rural health clinics that primarily provide primary care services—Sulphur Springs Medical Center in Willcox and Sunsites Medical Clinic in Pearce, about 30 miles to the southwest— have been without a physician, highlighting the medical challenges in a rural town. “It’s difficult, it’s really difficult, to get doctors to come to a rural community where there is typically less funding available and when you are competing against metro areas that have a lot to offer,” said Robin Allen, rural health clinic manager. “Typically, those that do are from the area and want to return home.” Mo Sheldon, who was named CEO of Northern Cochise Community Hospital last year, says it takes a certain type of person to want to serve as a physician in a small
