Dr. Craig Batty is a D.O. of Family Medicine at Ashley Regional Medical Center, in Vernal, Utah.
Dr. Batty speaks on serving Rural Communities in Utah, and the challenges he’s faced in doing so.
Doing good things in Rural Communities:
“I want to discuss a patient who came in with alcohol abuse. She was a very heavy drinker and was looking for some help. She was initially seen in the ER, but came to me to establish care for follow up. She was starting on Librium and was slowly starting to wean down her alcohol use. She had a great desire to change and successfully quit drinking. She is now planning to get regular Vivitrol injections to help her stay controlled.”
“I also had a great experience with a woman a few months ago who came in for weight loss and vomiting. She had had this issue for a number of years, but workup had always been negative. Her family did not express much confidence that things would be different this time, but we ran tests and ended up diagnosing her with Autoimmune Hepatitis. With this diagnosis in hand, she was able to get the appropriate treatment. She is now stable and doing much better than she has in years.”
Challenges of Rural:
- “Student loans remain a concern. We have made significant progress over the past few months, but this will always be a concern for me until the balance is zero.”
- “Community support has been amazing. Word has gotten around and most of my business is coming from patients referring their friends and family. This is a positive thing because I tend to get good patients who truly want to improve their health.”