NMC physician eager for start of Hillsboro clinic

Brett and Kara Nedich enjoy a moment together in the courtyard of the Newton Medical Center last week. Brett Nedich will be the lead physician at the satellite clinic NMC plans to open Dec. 2 at 121 N. Main in Hillsboro. Both husband and wife have a medical degree from the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences.Brett Nedich says being the lead physician at the satellite clinic Newton Medi?cal Center plans to open in Hillsboro next month is more than a job assignment.

?I just felt like the Spirit led us there,? Nedich said last week. ?It?s been kind of a dream in the making for the last several months since we moved here.?

You might not expect that perspective from someone who has lived in an urban setting for much of his life, but Nedich said he and wife Kara are genuinely enthused about the community.

A family connection helped. Kara is a cousin to Julia Jost, who works with husband Jared at Jost Funeral Home in Hillsboro.

?We?ve been visiting them for quite some time,? Brett said. ?Kara and I have driven through Hills?boro, I love the way it looks. The people?there?s a lot of similarities between here and Newton, obviously.?

Urban background

Born in Lee?s Summit, Mo., and raised in Overland Park, Nedich played baseball in high school and then at Neosho Community College and Avila University.

?Growing up, I played a lot of baseball and every once in a while went to class,? he joked. ?In high school I started to pick up my game, as far as academics go.?

While at Neosho, Nedich changed his major from business to biology, with a goal of beginning a medical career.

He was introduced to Kara by a mutual friend in 2000 while she was a student at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D. Ironically, Kara, too, was a biology major with an eye toward a medical career.

The couple were married in 2003, and both earned osteopathic medical degrees at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences.

Because the couple were familiar with Sioux Falls, Brett completed his residency there. Kara, mean?while, has postponed her residency to care for their two daughters: Amar?, 6, and Onnyk, 4.

The family moved to Newton in September 2012, and Brett began his primary-care practice there.

Osteopathic approach

Both Brett and Kara said they are comfortable with the osteopathic approach to medicine.

?I think it was the approach to the patient more than anything else,? Brett said about his preference. ?Osteopathic medicine is very conducive to primary care medicine, which is what we both wanted to do really from the start.?

Kara said the osteopathic approach takes into account the spiritual and emotional health of the patient as well as the physical.

?Allopathic (mainstream) medicine has come a long ways in that approach,? she added. ?I would venture to say that it?s getting comparable, but osteopathic has been there from the start.?

Brett said the idea of opening a clinic in Hills?boro appealed to the couple from the start, but it took time for the idea to come to fruition.

?The opportunity wasn?t there at first,? Nedich said, ?but then later this was working out. There?s already a good medical infrastructure there, and good doctors already. We have sub-specialists rotating through, so there?s a lot of good resources already set up there. It just kind of made sense.?

Eventually, NMC plans to build a new facility where the former Hill Crest Motel stood. But in the short run, the clinic will be located at 122 N. Main, where the Good Health & Diagnostic Center operated. The target date for opening is Dec. 2, according to Nedich.

When it does open, Nedich said he plans to be physically present in Hills?boro for 20 hours each weekday. Clinic hours generally will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mon?day through Friday.

Nedich said some cooperative arrangements are being made with Hills?boro Community Hospital, particularly in terms of patient tests, but he likely will be admitting his patients to NMC when they need hospital care.

?I always have to think about that call in the middle of the night,? Nedich said. ?If I have to wait 30 to 45 minutes to get there?it?s something we have to consider.?

Move to Hillsboro

When the couple moved to central Kansas a little over a year ago, they purchased a home about a mile from NMC. Moving to Hills?boro isn?t likely in the near future.

?Newton has been a fantastic place for us,? Brett said. ?But it would certainly be an honor to live in Hills?boro. Right now, we?re pretty much grounded in Newton because we have a house and we have our kids in school. It?s really working for us in that regard.?

Kara said she can envision a move in their future.

?It would be my dream to be able to deliver babies and be an (obstetrician) out of Hillsboro,? she said.

Her husband nodded, but added, ?Given loan repayment options, we?ll have to see. The dream is a long way from being actualized.?

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