First Call Family Healthcare clinic opens in Gainesville


Nurse practitioner Marti Warden recently opened First Call Family Healthcare in Gainesville. She says she’s blessed to have three family members on staff including, from left: Kylee Humphries as office assistant, sister Kelli Humphries for insurance billing and behind-the-scenes support and sister-in-law Teodora Kyle as medical assistant. Times photo/Jessi Dreckman

Gainesville native and nurse practitioner Marti Warden has decided to bring her nearly 25 years of medical experience back to Ozark County with the recent opening of her clinic, First Call Family Healthcare. 

Marti, along with clinic staff including sister Kelli Humphries, sister-in-law Teodora Kyle and niece Kylee Humphries, say they’re excited about rethinking healthcare and providing care the way they feel led - with open hearts, open ears and a real sense of compassion for their fellow community members.

“We just want to take good care of people and connect people with the resources and care they need,” Marti said in a recent interview with the Times. 

 

Deep Ozark County roots

Marti and Kelli’s roots run deep in Ozark County. 

The daughters of well-known Gainesville couple Jim and Mary Kyle, the pair grew up on a county road just south of town and both graduated from Gainesville High School. 

When the girls decided at a young age to pursue a career in healthcare, their family wasn’t surprised.

“We have a lot of family in healthcare. “...We have an uncle, Dr. Arthur Beard, who was a family physician in Mountain Home (Ark.). He actually got his start here in Gainesville…” Marti said. “And we have cousins and aunts who are in the medical field. So, we’ve just been exposed to it all our lives.”

After graduating from Gainesville High School in 1989, Marti continued her education, first earning her registered nursing (R.N.) degree, then completing a bridge program to earn her family nurse practitioner’s (FNP) degree in 1998. 

Marti has embarked on a wide and varied career for the last two and a half decades that included time serving in home health, family practice, urgent care, emergency room treatment and pediatrics. One could say she’s done a bit of it all.

She’s worked at the Ozark County Health Department, Gainesville Clinic, Missouri Ozarks Community Health in Gainesville, Baxter Regional Medical Center in Mountain Home, Arkansas, and Burton Creek Rural Clinic in West Plains. 

“My husband jokes and says I’ve changed jobs more times since he’s known me than he’s done in his whole life,” Marti said. “…but every place that I’ve been has prepared me for the next. When I was up on the hill [at the Gainesville Clinic], it was a 7-day a week facility. Dr. [Ed] Henegar and Dr. [Aaron] Newton were there then, and they taught me a lot. I hated to leave Gainesville, but I had an opportunity to work in pediatrics with Dr. Perry Wilbur, which was such a great experience. And so on. It’s just that every place I’ve been, I’ve learned so much.”

 

‘I want to serve here…live here…keep doing this job’

Marti said that friends and family members had asked her throughout the years if she’d ever thought about starting her own clinic, and while she found the idea appealing, the timing was never right. 

“I just think it was too overwhelming with small kids,” Marti said, referring to the couple’s three children. 

But now, with their youngest son in middle school, Marti says she felt confident in finally making the jump and opening a clinic in the community that she lives in and loves. 

“I just thought, ‘I want to serve here, and I want to live here, and I want to keep doing this job,’” she said. “…why shouldn’t I do this… for myself and for my family and for Gainesville.”

Kelli says she’s talked with Marti at length about the potential of opening the new clinic, and she feels that the desire really rests in having more flexibility in the way she cares for patients.

“She wants to help. She wants to be a provider for this area. And I’m not just saying Ozark County proper, because they have patients outside of the area,” Kelli explained. “But she wants to take care of people the way she wants… So many people get overlooked [in the medical system] because of one reason or another. You have to make time for people, and she wants to do that here.”

Fueled by that desire and the support of their family, Marti and the team opened the First Call Family Healthcare Clinic on April 25 and began the detailed process of getting the business up and running. 

It’s been a team effort, with friends and family members pitching in talents as needed. 

Marti and Kelli’s dad, Jim Kyle, has been a prime marketing specialist, talking up and showing off the clinic every chance he gets. 

“We went to the White River [Electric Cooperative]’s customer appreciation day, and Papa is on the board there. I was talking to the ladies, and they said, ‘Jim Kyle. He’s very proud of you guys. He’s always talking about it,” Teodora said. “He’s always helping people. So to see this, that his daughters are doing this here to help, it has touched my heart. I’m so happy that it’s happening and that he’s able to see it.”

Marti said when the clinic first opened up, Jim stopped by with friends and family fairly often to show off the new facility and explain the clinic’s services.  

Marti and Kelli’s mother, Mary, has also pitched in, serving as the “back door Lick Creek accountant,” they joked, paying bills and doing other work as needed. 

Mary’s brother has helped out fixing things in the office, serving as a sort-of maintenance person when needed. 

Marti’s husband, who retired from the phone company, volunteered to help setup the phone and internet service at the clinic. 

A friend built the clinic’s website and worked on the graphics and logo. Another friend helped decorate the new facility. 

“When they say it takes a village, it does,” Kelli said. 

“Everybody has just poured so much into this and prayed for us and have really helped us a lot. And that means so much,” Marti added. 

 

A strong family, a strong team

Marti says she feels very confident and excited about the pool of experience, talent and personality that the team of four brings to the office. 

A big part of that team is her sister, Kelli. 

After graduating from Gainesville High School in 1992, Kelli continued her education, also earning her R.N. degree. 

She spent 19 years working for Baxter Regional Medical Center in Mountain Home in a variety of positions, before relocating to Salem, Arkansas, with husband Heath and their three children. 

“At Baxter I did multiple things. I worked in the cath lab. I worked in the recovery room. I worked in ICU, but mainly I worked in care coordination,” Kelli explained. “Then when we relocated to Salem, I got a job at a local private non-profit home health agency. I’ve been there for six years as a clinical manager.”

Marti says that Kelli’s experience has and will continue to be a huge asset to her, the clinic and the community at large, as she cuts through the red tape in the sometimes difficult-to-navigate medical system for clients to get the services they need. 

“I troubleshoot and problem solve,” Kelli said, explaining her background in care coordination as this: “…[it’s] arranging resources for people based on a conversation you have with the patient about what they need. From ‘What do you have? What do you live in: a tent, a car, a camper, a house, a congregate living situation?’ to ‘Do you have electricity? Do you have food and water? How do you get your medications? How do you get to and from the doctor? What kind of equipment is needed in your home: a walker, a wheelchair, a hospital bed? Do you need home health arranged? Do you need out-patient services arranged?’”

"Do you need referrals to other specialists? Do you need not go home and go to rehab. And you assess the situation and come up with a plan based on what that patient would like to do.”

Kelli is very proficient in working with insurance companies and filing claims. 

Also part of the First Call Family Healthcare team is Marti’s and Kelli’s sister-in-law Teodora Kyle, who is married to their brother Matt Kyle. 

Prior to the family relocating to Ozark County in 2018, Teodora served as a phlebotomist, nurse’s aide and medical interpreter for Spanish at the Tree of Life Clinic at Rogers, Arkansas. The clinic primarily provided healthcare for patients with no medical insurance, Teodora explained.  

“She has such a sweet spirit and is so kind. I know everyone will love her,” Marti said. 

Kelli’s daughter Kylee Humphries is the clinic’s office assistant, serving as the first smiling face patients will encounter after walking through the door. 

Kylee graduated from Melbourne (Ark.) High School in 2021 and will begin nursing school in the fall at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, continuing the family’s work in the medical field. She was awarded the Anderson Downes Scholarship. 

 

Making connections for clients 

Marti says the clinic is focused on bridging gaps in medical care when it can, going the extra mile and taking the time to connect patients with what they need. 

“I’ve learned that I particularly enjoy connecting people with resources. I like it when people are connected with kind people, who take care of them,” she said. “It’s just like everything else, everyone is short-staffed. So I may be seeing someone who is in for their blood pressure check, but they’re at their wits end about something else. When you stop to ask them ‘What else can I help you with?’ They may say they need something else, or they’re upset because they had to come in to get this recheck but needed the money for another appointment. So then I can call Kelli and say, “They have this insurance. This is what they need. What can we do with that?’ That’s what I love… having the resources to care for them comprehensively. Even if part of that is not here, not with us. We want to make those connections. It’s so much bigger than your prescription, and it’s hard for people here to navigate the system. If we don’t have the resources readily available, we will connect you to them.”

Kelli says she’s found that many people don’t know what services their insurance provides, and she looks forward to helping clients understand their policies and how it can impact their healthcare. 

“We try to educate them on the plan of care. Explaining ‘We’re going to do this with you. This is what your insurance provides. How are we going to get the two to meet?’” Kelli said. 

“…or take it a step further. You’re 86 years old, and you’re trying to call on the automated system to find out what your [insurance] benefit is. When you finally get through, you might get someone who is hard to understand…” Marti said. “So just to have someone who says ‘I understand. Let us help you with that. Let us call for you. Let us find this out.’ That can be invaluable to some people.”

Marti says that Burton Creek Rural Clinic has been very supportive of her new clinic, and Dr. Aaron Mills serves as her collaborating physician. 

She explained that, in Missouri, nurse practitioner’s work under a collaborating physician who co-signs a percentage of medical charts and meets with the provider every two weeks to discuss the care and is available to consult on difficult cases.

She also has good connections with Ozarks Healthcare Gainesville Clinic, who now offers wound care and pulmonology specialists locally. 

“I’m excited that my patients will have access to those services here,” she said. 

 

‘We care about you’

Marti says it’s important to her that patients be greeted in a friendly manner and realize that the staff is honored that they’ve chosen their clinic for their care.

“So many times you walk into a doctor’s office, and you’ve not been met with a smile. And it’s not because that person’s not nice. But that person might have a lot going on that’s overflowed to their job or they’re doing 15 different things and they’ve got people in the background saying, ‘I need this, this, this, this and this…’” Kelli said. “We try to emphasize that the first thing we want to do is meet them with a smile, because a smile is a conveyance that we care about you. And I think we truly do.”

The four women also work together, pitching in whenever it’s needed. 

“Everybody does everything here. There’s no ‘This is your job. This is my job.’ We do it all. The only thing we can’t do is Marti’s job. But she often does our job. She’s not afraid to get her hands dirty,” Kelli said. 

Despite the hard work involved, the staff says their faith is at the center of their care and often leads the path toward in treatment. 

 “Our mission is to serve how God wants us to serve,” Marti said. “Sometimes we get focused on ‘What do I think I need to do this day? What patients do I need to see? What do I need to get done?’ Then we try to step back, and we pray before we start our day. Then those questions change to ‘How does He want us to serve?’ And a lot of times, it’s a lot different that we think it’s going to look. So we’re learning everyday. Our new slogan is, ‘He’s on it 24/7.’

 

Serving in many ways

The clinic offers treatment and management for chronic conditions, urgent needs and general sickness. Marti also provides women’s healthcare and well-baby visits.

“We do injuries, lacerations, fish hook removal, foreign body removal, ear wax…just anything that you’d get at your doctor’s office,” she explained. “She says patients who think they may have a broken bone can make an appointment, and the staff at the clinic can splint the injured area and many times arrange for an x-ray to be done at the Gainesville Clinic a few miles away.

“It’s the worst to have an injury and then have someone tell you that you have to drive an hour to West Plains or Mountain Home or Springfield to get an x-ray…” Kelli said. 

“So I’m thankful for those people Ozarks Healthcare Gainesville Clinic for caring cooperatively with us,” Marti said. 

The staff at First Call is able to do some labs in office and utilizes Quest Laboratories for others, which most of the time includes next-day results. 

Marti is also  able to administer IV fluid and injections.

For residents who can’t make it into the clinic or would rather visit by phone, Marti offers tele-visits when it’s feasible for the type of care needed. 

“We also happily take walk-ins. Even if you are not our patient. If you live here and are sick and you need something in a hurry, you don’t have to be an established patient to have a sick visit or injury visit,” Marti said. “Some people have their doctor that they’ve had forever and they’d like to keep, but maybe they can’t get in there or need something looked at immediately. We get that, and we’re happy to help if we can,” Marti said. 

She also encourages patients to call the clinic even after hours, as she has the phone lines forwarded to her cell phone.

“If I can save you a trip to the ER, and it’s something we can do here, sure, let’s do it,” Marti said. “There’s no need to pay for an emergency room visit if it’s something we can help you with.”

The clinic offers online medical charts, text alerts and other high-tech options for patients who enjoy that type of service. Handwritten appointment cards and traditional services are also available for those who don’t care as much for the more modern way of doing things. 

First Call Family Healthcare is in-network with the following insurances: Anthem BCBS, Cigna, CorVel, Coventry, Cox Health Plans, Healthlink, Medica, Mercy, MultiPlan/PHCS, Aetna, United Healthcare, Medicare and Medicaid. 

They are currently waiting for in-network approval for Healthy Blue and Humana insurances. 

Staff are also awaiting in-network approval with Home State Health, but Marti says the clinic expects to be actively in-network with that company on July 2. 

 

Find out more

The First Call Family Healthcare is hosting an open house from noon to 2 p.m. Tuesday, June 28. Everyone is welcome to stop in, meet the staff and see the office. 

The clinic, located on First Street in Gainesville in the building adjoining the Gainesville License Office, is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. 

Walk-ins are welcome, and after-hour urgent needs can sometimes be met, as the phone line is forwarded to Marti’s cell in off hours. 

For more information, call the clinic at 417-679-3234, email firstcallclinic@gmail.com or visit www.firstcallfamilyhealthcare.com. 

“We’re local. We want to serve local,” Marti said. “We want to take good care of people and connect them with the things they need.”

Ozark County Times

504 Third Steet
PO Box 188
Gainesville, MO 65655

Phone: (417) 679-4641
Fax: (417) 679-3423