Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Staff Still At Work Despite Doctor’s Death, CEO’s Arrest
Kimball’s Hometown Medical Group, formerly Arrow Medical, says it plans “to continue to care for people in the area” following the death of Dr. James Broomfield and arrest of former CEO Stoney Vance.
Caregivers there now include nurse practitioners Keri Foster and Holly Dobrinski.
Foster and Dobrinski said they will continue on without their colleague and friend, the late Dr. Broomfield.
“He is a part of the vision that started this place, and we intend to move forward,” Foster said. She said he genuinely cared for people’s well-being.
Foster said Broomfield had won a fishing trip to Mexico, where he and his son Josh were fishing in an area south of Mexico City when he suffered a brain hemorrhage, more commonly known as a stroke.
Initially, she said, he was taken to a small hospital that was unable to scan his body for internal images and had no treatment available.
She said no aircraft was accessible to fly him to a larger hospital, and he was therefore transported by ground ambulance, which took 15 hours until he could receive medical treatment from a neurologist in Morelia, Mexico. While being transported, she said the ambulance was stopped twice by “a cartel.”
She said as the situation became dire, Broomfield, 59, was transported by an international evacuation flight to Cheyenne, where he lived and his family could say goodbye. He passed away March 22 and his funeral service was last weekend in Cheyenne.
In addition to Josh, a senior at LSU, Broomfield has a son Nathan at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and a daughter Jenna, a senior in high school in Cheyenne.
In Nebraska, a nurse practitioner can practice and see patients. Both Foster and Dobrinski are nurse practitioners and can prescribe medication, help with medication management and provide some mental health services. They also care for homebound patients and nursing home residents.
They are also reaching out to other providers to join them. Foster said they have good relations with Kimball Health Services, and hospital courtesy privileges have been extended to Hometown Medical Group.