New Business Brings Health Care to Downtown Emporia.

Emporia, KS– Liberty MD is now open and is ready to offer a variety of medical services to the community. Located in downtown Emporia at 708 Commercial, this new health care facility owned and operated by Dr. Aaron and Wendy Watters focuses on providing direct primary care and more to individuals and families.

Dr. Aaron Watters, MD, started his career at his local hospital at 16 in Colby, KS. At 18, he became an EMT and then worked in respiratory therapy through college and medical school. From there, Watters did his residency in Houston at a trauma center, then became a family doctor in Ark City, KS where he cared for patients for almost 20 years. The past nine years, Watters has remained in the medical field serving as an Emergency Room physician, director, and hospitalist.  In 2022, Watters decided to make the transition to opening his own clinic to focus on his patients and provide personal healthcare.

Wendy Watters, Facility Practice Manager, has an impressive healthcare business background by holding positions such as the former Divisional Vice President for Angmar Medical Holdings as well as Administrator and Regional Director of Business Operations for the state of Kansas for Angmar. Staff also include Denise Mendoza, LPN at Liberty MD; Mendoza is a local graduate of Flint Hills Technical School and has been working in health care for the past 15 years. Patient Care Coordinator, Neva Cales, who has recently moved to Emporia, will focus on office processes scheduling, and patient care relationships.

So, what makes Liberty MD different from other medical providers?

Patients enroll in a membership with a monthly fee structure. Membership fees are based on the age of the patient ranging from 0 to 65 years and older. There is also a coverage option for employer groups with five or more employees. Liberty MD is a Direct Primary Care (DPC) Clinic. This type of simplified primary care model allows the patient to directly pay the clinic for their care/services and removes and 3^rd party payor such as insurance companies. This can reduce the costs of services and provide varies options to care.

Outside of direct primary care (regular doctor visits), Liberty MD offers an array of services to their members such as a regular follow up appointment, wellness or weight loss coaching, a simple in-office procedure, or even an EKG.

“Our members also enjoy longer appointment times, next day or same day appointments, 24/7 access to their doctor, as well as wholesale priced pharmacy and labs,” explains Watters, Facility Practice Manager. “We also offer several additional premium services which our members receive discounts on. One of the newest premium services offered at Liberty MD is a women’s healthcare platform called EmpowerRF. This platform uses state of the art technology that treats women’s incontinence and other female health issues without surgery or any real downtime,” explains Watters. “We are the only clinic in this area that has this technology.”

When asked about the choice of location for the clinic, staff were eager to respond.

“Downtown Emporia is the absolute heartbeat of this community and it’s like no other small town’s main street.  It is vibrant and thriving.  You can do almost anything in downtown Emporia now including seeing a doctor,” said Dr. Watters. “It would have been very easy to find a rental location for the clinic, but we felt it was important to invest in our community and become a part of what downtown Emporia was all about.”

As part of the downtown community, Emporia Main Street is looking forward to working with Liberty MD and having them as a member of the organization.

“Because we are seeing an increase in living spaces in the center of the community, having medical services close by and available for residents is an added benefit to living downtown,” said Casey Woods, Executive Director for Emporia Main Street. “We are also excited to hear about the employer plans that Liberty MD offers. Being able to provide health care options to employees is a tremendous win for small businesses.”

Because there are many services and plan details to consider, Liberty MD will be holding an open house on Thursday, August 17^th from 5pm-7pm at their facility located at 708 Commercial. During this time, the public is invited to meet Dr. Watters and the Liberty MD Staff and discuss services and membership plans. Tours of the facility will also be given in addition to give-a-ways and refreshments. Freedom Freeze will be set up outside and Liberty MD will be providing the first 50 visitors with a complementary sno cone.

For more information on Liberty MD or to schedule an appointment, please call 620-263-3777. To see a complete list of services, membership plans, and rates, please visit https://libertymdemporia.com/