by Patrice Brazie
Al Santos, administrator of the Lincoln County Medical Center (LCMC), announced on Tuesday that he has hired a new physician assistant to provide healthcare services at the county-owned medical clinics in Carrizozo and Corona.“It’s been a five-month search, and we certainly want to thank the communities of Carrizozo and Corona for their patience,” Santos said during the February 16th meeting of the county’s board of commissioners. “I think our due diligence has been well rewarded with a provider that I think everybody in the communities of both Carrizozo and Corona are going to be very happy with.”
Santos thanked Dr. Larry Jackson, the LCMC medical director, for filling in at the two clinics over the past five months, then provided some background information about the new PA, Ellen Wittman.
“Ellen has provided clinical services in New Orleans, Louisiana, in a family practice clinic setting, in Dona Ana County Detention Center in Las Cruces, health centers in northern New Mexico and was a hospital physician assistant in Alta Vista Regional Hospital in Las Vegas as well,” Santos said. “She’s licensed in the state of New Mexico.”
He said that Wittman intentionally sought out a position in a rural setting, and that he thinks the pairing of Wittman with the Carrizozo and Corona clinics is a “match made in heaven”.
“She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor; she also completed post-baccalaureate courses in pre-medicine and Spanish at El Camino College in Torrance, California, the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, Santa Fe Community College and the College of Santa Fe,” Santos reported. “She received her Physician Assistant Masters Degree (MPA) from Samuel Merritt College in Oakland, California.”
Wittman will provide medical care at the Carrizozo clinic from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and at the Corona clinic on Wednesdays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Residents will have an opportunity to meet the new PA during a meet-and-greet welcoming event on February 24th, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Carrizozo town hall.
“We encourage everybody to come out and meet Ellen and have a little bit more of an opportunity in a social environment to meet and express our appreciation for her being here,” Santos said.
Wittman addressed the audience and county commissioners, beginning by saying how happy she is to be working here.
“It’s like a dream come true,” she said. “I have been looking for a rural setting for some time now.
When I first started my medical studies, I wanted to make a partnership with patients and providers because I believe that people are as much responsible for their good health, or their poor health, as the providers. We need to have a very clear understanding of who’s in charge, and the patient is usually in charge in terms of dictating their state of well-being. We are there to guide and support them,” she said.
In a letter that accompanied her application for the job, Wittman wrote: “Throughout my medical training, my goal has always been to provide compassionate medical care in a not-for-profit setting while working in a comfortable, dedicated environment to an under-served patient population.”