Press Release

Release Date: October 11, 2006
HRCHC Contact: Communications Department
Telephone: (207) 861-3466
Email: Communications@HealthReach.org

Dr. Kathryn Wistar joins Sheepscot Valley Health Center

(Coopers Mills, ME) – The Sheepscot Valley Health Center is pleased to welcome new medical provider Kathryn Wistar, MD. Dr. Wistar joins a team of five other providers and began her new practice at the Sheepscot Valley Health Center on September 20, 2006. Dr. Wistar graduated with a Bachelor’s of Art in Women’s Studies from San Francisco State University in 1993. She went on to medical school at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, receiving her medical degree in 2002.

Dr. Wistar completed her Family Practice Residency here in Maine at the Maine Dartmouth Family Practice, and recently completed a geriatric fellowship. Dr. Wistar recently spoke about the opportunity to treat patients at the Sheepscot Valley Health Center. “When I went into medicine I knew I wanted to pursue rural health care and develop a broad based primary care practice,” said Dr. Wistar. “At Sheepscot I will have the opportunity to treat patients of all ages.”

Dr. Wistar has always had an interest in the medical field. “My father was a doctor who mostly worked in the research field,” said Dr. Wistar. “After the birth of my two daughters I reflected on the kind of career I would find personally fulfilling, medicine was an obvious choice.” Prior to attending medical school, Dr. Wistar had worked in the medical field and volunteered for social causes. A writer as well, she is the author of several professional publications.

As the newest Sheepscot provider, Dr. Wistar has found the clinical and administrative staff to be supportive as she gets to know the patients and the operation of the Health Center. She is also aware that the Sheepscot Valley Health Center along with the ten other community health centers under the HealthReach Community Health Centers umbrella will be adopting an electronic medical record system in 2007. Dr. Wistar pointed out that she utilized an electronic medical record system during her Residency. “An EMR system is an effective tool to organize your workload,” said Wistar. “It provides an easier way to track lab work and provides safety measures when prescribing medications.”

Dr. Wistar’s free time is devoted to her husband, playing with her two daughters and dogs and tending her vegetable garden. She is an active member of the local Grange in Vassalboro. “The Grange does a lot good work in our community,” said Wistar.

Last year, the Sheepscot Valley Health Center provided primary and preventive health care services to over 5,000 area residents for a total of 19,228 patient visits. The doctors at Sheepscot Valley provide hospital care through MaineGeneral Medical Center at the Augusta campus. Patients come from an extensive geographic region that includes the communities of Coopers Mills, Jefferson, Somerville, Washington, Whitefield, Windsor, and parts of three Maine counties.

The Sheepscot Valley Health Center is part of HealthReach Community Health Centers, a system of eleven federally qualified, community-based health centers located in central and western Maine. Dedicated providers at HealthReach deliver high quality, affordable healthcare to 36,000 rural and underserved residents in over 80 communities. HealthReach is a private, non-profit organization with a 30-year history, funded by patient fees, grants and individual donations.