BUFFALO - For residents of this remote corner of South Dakota, the presence of physician assistant Crystal Page and the rebirth of the local clinic is "monumental," according to Gene Von Bickerdyke.

"I can't even think of the words to describe it," Bickerdyke said.

Through the combined efforts of area residents, Regional Health Physicians and Regional Medical Clinics, the Buffalo Regional Health Clinic opened for business Feb. 4.

The public is invited to meet the staff and tour the refurbished clinic from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., today and Friday, Feb. 14 and 15.

Staffed by Page, licensed practical nurse Dana Johnson and receptionist Ann Parfrey, the clinic is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Appointments are scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. except over the noon hour.

Dr. Patricia Stephenson at Foothills Regional Medical Clinic in Black Hawk supervises Page. Stephenson, whose specialty is family medicine, will visit the clinic once a month.

Clinic administrator Lana Grout said the community worked closely with Regional Health Physicians to bring healthcare back to town.

"We've been working on it jointly," Grout said. "They have been very involved and very helpful."

The community raised about $40,000 to remodel the clinic, according to Parfrey, a member of the Harding County Hospital Association. The association spearheaded the reopening of the clinic after a private practitioner closed the clinic almost a year ago.

The family of Etta Hann donated $25,000 to the remodeling project, Parfrey said.

Hann was the first nurse to work in the H.W. and E.W. Clarkson Clinic when it opened its doors in 1963, Parfrey said.

The Clarksons matched the $22,000 the community raised 45 years ago to build the clinic, Parfrey said.

Medical care is a valued commodity in this county of more than 1,300 residents that spans 2,670 square miles.

U.S. Highway 85, a major north-south artery running through town, averages 1,500 vehicles a day, Parfrey said.

"This is a busy little stretch of road," she said.

Until the clinic reopened, the nearest medical treatment was 45 miles north in Bowman, N.D., or 70 miles south in Spearfish.

A medical appointment meant taking a day off from work because of the travel time. Preventive medical care was probably the most neglected, said Bickerdyke, who teachers at Harding County High School.

"A lot of people just let things slide," she said.

Those out-of-town trips also cost the community local dollars because people did their shopping on those trips.

Bickerdyke said having medical services available will allow elderly residents to stay in their homes and may make the community more appealing for young families considering a move back to the region.

"The clinic just makes the community more cohesive," Bickerdyke said.

Since opening last week, Page has been busy.

"Our first morning was crazy," she said.

A Nebraska native, Page completed her undergraduate work at Chadron (Neb.) State College and earned her PA-C (physician assistant-certified) degree from Union College in Lincoln, Neb. She worked at a Billings, Mont., clinic that specialized in internal medicine for four years before coming to Buffalo.

Page's husband Heath is a graduate of Harding County High School, which makes the move to Buffalo a homecoming for their family. The couple has two children - Slate, 2 years, and Emerald, 8 months.

Page said it is important to have her children near their grandparents, and she looks forward to raising her family in a close-knit community.

"Billings was getting too big," she said. "I like being able to see the horizon."

As the primary health-care provider for a community of 350 people and the surrounding rural area, Page knows her job will be demanding.

"It will hone my diagnostic skills," she said.

The clinic is equipped with a small laboratory and has X-ray equipment. A courier service will make daily deliveries to the Queen City Regional Medical Clinic for more complicated laboratory tests.

Dr. Stephenson is just a phone call away for consultations.

The clinic is also connected to a new electronic medical-records system that gives Stephenson access to all of the clinic's medical records.

The system also gives Page access to medical records created for her patients who have been patients at Queen City Regional Medical Clinic, Grout said.

All of the facilities in the Regional Health system will eventually use the electronic system.

Page will spend alternating Wednesdays working with Stephenson in the Black Hawk Clinic.

Calls for the Harding County Ambulance Service also ring into the clinic, which will help Page decide if she needs to go on emergency calls.

If you go What: Buffalo Regional Health Clinic Open House. The public is invited to stop in, meet the staff and tour the recently remodeled clinic.

When: 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. today and Friday, Feb. 14 and 15,

Where: Buffalo Regional Health Clinic, 209 Ramsland St., Buffalo

Contact Andrea Cook at 394-8423 or andrea.cook@rapidcityjournal.com