Press Release

Release Date: March 13, 2008
HRCHC Contact: Communications Department
Telephone: (207) 861-3466
Email: Communications@HealthReach.org

Rangeley Region Health Center Announces Team of Providers

Rangeley- Rangeley Region Health Center is pleased to announce that Amanda Hepler, MD will join the Health Center in August. Hepler is dedicated to rural healthcare. In the summer of 1999 she was part of a medical mission trip to Kenya where she delivered medical care to people who may never have been able to see a doctor. In 2001, Helper received a National Health Service Corps scholarship, an award that is only given to medical students who commit to providing four years of service in areas like rural Maine where healthcare resources can be scarce. For the past four years, Hepler lived in a small Pennsylvania town where she completed her residency and was an active participant in the community.

A team of HealthReach Community Health Centers’ providers will be assisting Dr. Hepler by making sure that Rangeley Region Health Center patients get the best possible care until she arrives in August. This team is lead by Burton Knapp, MD and William Toms, MD. Both doctors are board certified in family medicine and both already see patients at Rangeley. In 2005, both providers received prestigious awards. Knapp was named “Inpatient Preceptor of the Year“ by Maine Medical Center’s Department of Family Medicine and Toms was recognized by the New Hampshire Hospital Association as “Physician of the Year.“ Joining Knapp and Toms is Carol Eckert, MD. Dr Eckert has been practicing medicine at Sheepscot Valley Health Center in Coopers Mills, Maine for more than 25 years and is a member of six professional health organizations.

Joining these physicians are Dana Law, and Sandy Picard, both Family Nurse Practitioners. Law teaches nursing at the University of Southern Maine. Picard is a member of the National Wellness Institute and specializes in adolescent and women’s health.

HealthReach Community Health Centers is pleased to welcome this panel of providers with such a broad spectrum of experience and expertise. The staff at Rangeley Region Health Center, a practice awarded three blue ribbons by the Maine Health Management Coalition, looks forward to Dr. Hepler’s arrival in August. “Her skills and rural health experience will serve our community well,“ says Kate Quimby, the Health Center’s Practice Manager.

Rangeley Region Health Center is part of the HealthReach Community Health Centers family. HealthReach Community Health Centers is a system of eleven federally qualified, community-based health centers located in central and western Maine. Dedicated providers deliver high-quality, affordable healthcare to underserved residents in over 80 rural communities. HealthReach is a private, non-profit organization with a 30-year history, funded by patient fees, grants and individual donations.