NHSC Clinician Makes Ordinary Health Care Extraordinary

"Why would you be so interested in what I do?" asked Dr. Scott Hardy. "I am just an ordinary doctor doing ordinary work."

But then "ordinary" is probably not the word patients would choose to describe the quiet diligence and unending compassion that Hardy brings to his treatment of each and every one of them. In their eyes, his very presence at Emery Medical Center in Castle Dale, Utah, is a miracle. And his commitment to bringing quality medical care to every patient makes him one of America's Health Care Heroes everyday.

Hardy, an osteopathic physician, works with a staff of one physician assistant and a nurse practitioner to provide services to approximately 8,000 people. For the most part, his patients are descendants of Mormon immigrants, many of whom are farmers who supplement their sparse incomes by working for the local mining industry. The majority of them are covered, to some degree, by employer-based health plans. However, 15 percent of his practice is made up of patients who are covered by Medicare, another 10 percent is covered by Medicaid, and between 5 and 10 percent pay their medical expenses out-of-pocket.

"I found out about the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) and its Scholarship and Loan Repayment Programs while I was in college from friends who were already NHSC Scholars," Hardy says. "I actually thought about applying for a scholarship but felt that it was not a good fit for someone with definite post-medical school plans and family commitments." To his delight, after some research, Hardy discovered that Emery Medical Center was located in a federally designated health professional shortage area. This made the NHSC and its Loan Repayment Program option a perfect fit. Hardy researched the site, applied to the program, and was accepted into the NHSC.

Hardy is himself a Mormon, born in Brigham City, Utah, and raised in a close-knit family. His familiarity with the pace of life in Utah and affinity with the people he serves ensures a continuity and sensitivity of care that would have been difficult to find in anyone else. Hardy has established level of trust with his patients and has developed the intuitive wisdom that he brings to his practice. In fact, if you ask one of his favorite patients, a healthy 92-year old woman, to characterize the treatment she receives from Doc Hardy, the word "brilliant" would probably come up. After all, after traditional medical treatments, he was the first clinician she ever consulted to suggest that she could ease off on some of the long-term medications that prevented her from fully enjoying life.

Hardy's family also enjoys the community in which they live. For Lisa Hardy, choosing a place with a lower cost of living has translated into being able to stay at home and be there for their five active children. For the kids, it means being able to enjoy a great amount of freedom within the safe embrace of a close-knit community.

More than two years after completing NHSC's Loan Repayment Program, Hardy is still at Emery Medical Center and has no immediate plans for leaving the clinic or Castle Dale. Every day he sees a familiar circle of patients for medical treatment ranging from minor scrapes to major depression. The miracle of quality treatment and individual attention has become a consistent application to each and every patient in the clinic.

When the quality of care practiced by Hardy becomes ordinary for everybody, regardless of his or her ethnic origin, geographic location, or ability to pay, then the NHSC will be able to report that it has accomplished its mission.

Learn about other NHSC success stories.