RDH to add new doctor

RANGELY I Along with construction of a new facility, Rangely District Hospital will be adding a new doctor. Maybe two.
Dr. Barry Bialek will soon join the medical staff at RDH.
“He’s from the Denver area and he’s what you would call semi-retired,” said Nick Goshe, hospital CEO. “He will be an every-other-week doc. He will be starting in August. He’s had a lot of experience in his career. He was looking for something where he could spend time with his teenage kids and then spend a week with us. We’re excited about it.”
Bialek will replace Dr. Brenda Hinton, who joined the RDH staff in 2008, but left to take a position in Kerrville, Texas.
“He’s actually lived in Montrose, so he’s familiar with the Western Slope and he’s familiar with Rangely,” Goshe said of Bialek, who is in his late 50s.
Recruiting doctors to a remote part of the state can be a challenge, which is one reason why hospital officials decided to try the every-other-week schedule, to see if that would make the position more appealing.
“The idea of every other week really intrigued him,” Goshe said.
The hospital CEO said the flexibility of a rotating schedule may help RDH land another doctor.
“We have another doc who is interested in an every-other-week position,” Goshe said.
The signing of Dr. Mercedes Cameron to a permanent position back in January — she had been assisting at RDH on a rotating basis through Docs Who Care (which provides loaner doctors for a fee to serve in rural communities) — and the addition of Dr. Chris Adams to a full-time position last year, have helped to stabilize the medical staff.
“We’ve kind of had a revolving door of doctors, but we’re hoping to correct that,” Goshe said. “Getting Dr. Cameron signed as a permanent with us gives me hope she’s planning on staying with us. The fact she was willing to sign with us tells me she really likes what we’re doing here, but I’m biased.”