Memorial Health System welcomes Susan Thompson, MD, as a member of its medical community. Dr. Thompson grew up locally, graduating from Chapman High School in 1977 (Susan Kubin). She received her medical degree from the University of Kansas School of Medicine, and completed her residency in Family Medicine with Obstetric Care at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita.
She has been in practice in the Clay Center area for over 20 years. In recent years, she has narrowed the focus of her practice to her passion, maternity care, thus her business name Special Delivery LLC. Dr. Thompson said, “My greatest joy in medicine is when my hands are the first to touch a new life.” Having a limited practice allows her to have more face to face interaction with patients, and support mothers during the labor process. Dr. Thompson observed, “the staff and administration at Memorial Health System are committed to expanding births by providing high quality services, and staying focused on patient centered care.” Dr. Thompson looks forward to working with Dr. Megan Brown, of Heartland Health Care Clinic, who shares a similar philosophy of labor management.
Dr. Thompson also expressed joy in returning to the community where she was raised, and reconnecting with friends and family. “Life comes full circle,” she said, and added “It is a special blessing to have more quality time with my father, Galen Kubin.” She joked, “At 90 years old, he is entering his second childhood, and needs some adult supervision.” She has moved back to the family farm, and is renovating the home she grew up in. It has allowed her to rediscover the “farm girl” inside her. Dr. Thompson has been married for 33 years to her husband, David, a pilot with Delta Airlines since 1998. He is currently Captain on the 767, flying domestic and international routes. They have two grown sons and two granddaughters.
By limiting the scope of her practice, Dr. Thompson can also pursue her other passion. Since 2011, she has traveled to Haiti 2 to 4 times per year as a medical representative of Evangelical Living Water Ministry of Haiti, sponsored by Hope for Haiti (www.hopeforhaiti.ws). In the past five years, this has involved the startup of a clinic, in a remote mountain area, that serves an estimated 50,000 Hatians, with no prior access to western medical care. She feels privileged to be a part of medical miracles at births with very limited resources available. Her primary role, however, is teaching community health care workers and traditional midwives that live on the mountain, many of whom have had no formal education, and cannot read. She serves as a consultant from the United States, by telephone, for the Haitian nurses that staff the clinic for several days every two weeks.
Assisting her in the office will be Anne Rose, RN. Anne has been a registered nurse for Memorial Health System for 20 years. Anne said, “When Dr. Thompson started talking about coming to Abilene, I was excited for her to join the amazing medical community we already have. She will be a great addition to the services MHS provides to maternity patients.” Anne and her husband, Cevin, farm south of town and have two children in the Abilene School District.
Dr. Thompson and Anne will see patients at the Medical Annex West, at 420 NE 10th Street, in Abilene. Patients desiring an appointment for maternity care or pre-conceptual counseling may call (785) 200-8185. She also posts personal notes about the practice, and the ministry in Haiti, on Facebook at SpecialDeliveryLLC-SusanDThompsonMD. Dr. Thompson said she tried to summarize the goal of her practice on her business card, which reads, “personal maternity care, one woman to another – nurturing the new life within you”.