Healthcare has come a long way from the days of house calls from your personal physician, black bag in hand. Modern technology and medical advances have radically changed the delivery of healthcare. As physicians seek to offer quality care to a growing number of patients, providing a personal touch to each patient in their practice is a challenge.

Ponca City Medical Center will institute a hospitalist program this summer, to enhance care to patients in the Ponca City community. Dr. Bruce Baugher is the medical director and will be one of two hospitalists on staff. The other hospitalist will be Dr. Ted Kaspar, a Kay County native who is returning to the area after completing his residency in Colorado. There will also be two mid-level practitioners that will provide coverage. Hospitalist coverage at the hospital will begin August 3.

Dr. Baugher was a chemical engineer in Tulsa for 13 years before deciding to become a physician. He grew up in Duncan and graduated from high school in Yukon. He earned his medical degree from Oklahoma State University School of Osteopathic Medicine and completed his residency at Tulsa Regional Medical Center (now OSU Medical Center). He’s been a medical staff member since 2005. Dr. Baugher and his wife, Courtney, are active in the community and enjoy participating in pursuits with their daughter, Lillian.

Dr. Kaspar grew up on a farm northwest of Newkirk and graduated from Blackwell High School in 1998. He received his undergraduate degree in physiology from Oklahoma State University in 2002. He earned his medical degree from Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences in 2006. Dr. Kaspar completed his training in June at Swedish Family Medicine Residency in Littleton, Colorado.

Hospitals and physicians across the country are turning to hospitalists to enhance physician accessibility, coordinate treatment, and provide seamless care to patients. A hospitalist is a medical doctor who specializes in caring for the very kinds of medical conditions that need hospital care. 

Hospitalists serve as valuable liaisons for both patients and providers. They work as a team and are available at the hospital or on call, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Like a primary care doctor, hospitalists are trained in general internal medicine and other specialties. Because they practice exclusively in the hospital setting, they know the hospital’s specialists and departments well, and can expedite communication and treatment with other caregivers.

“Having a hospitalist program provides access to physicians whose primary practice is inpatient care while allowing private-practice physicians more time to see patients in their offices,” said Andy Wachtel, CEO of Ponca City Medical Center. “The Hospitalist Program is available to all physicians on our medical staff. Participation in the program is completely voluntary, with each physician deciding whether he or she will utilize the service, and to what extent.”

One job of the hospitalist is to communicate with a patient’s primary care doctor as needed, particularly at admission and discharge. Hospitalists can often shorten a patient’s stay and speed recovery by closely monitoring patients’ condition and making adjustments to the treatment plan. Once the patient is discharged, the hospitalist transfers care back to the patient’s primary care provider.

“We are looking forward to working with Dr. Baugher and Dr. Kaspar as we launch the hospitalist program,” said Wachtel. “I believe this new service will benefit many people including our patients, staff and physicians.”