Five Questions With: Dr. Christopher Klaus

Dr. Christopher Klaus was recently named medical director at Thundermist Health Center in South County. Klaus previously served as chief resident in family medicine at Memorial Hospital. He did his post-graduate training at Brown University and received his medical degree from the University of Iowa.

PBN: In what ways does taking on the job of medical director at Thundermist Health Center in South County represent a culmination of your years of work in family medicine?
KLAUS:
I was co-chief resident of Family Medicine during my last year of residency, which helped prepare me for my role of medical director. However, what has helped me the most has been my interest in the humanities and my degree in philosophy from Saint Olaf College. The path to practicing medicine is four years of undergraduate studies, four years of medical school, and then three to six years of residency. During this time, much of your education is based in the sciences, but as a physician, most of your time is spent with people. Being able to relate to the joy and suffering of the individual in the exam room becomes as important as the science one has been studying.

PBN: What remain the largest hurdles – in terms of insurance, malpractice, and other issues – to providing good health care in 2015?
KLAUS:
The largest hurdle to providing health care in 2015 remains our unequal distribution of resources. The Affordable Care Act was an impressive step forward, but as a nation we must continue to discuss where our health resources will go and how we can improve our abysmal record on health quality, efficiency, access, and equity when compared to other industrialized nations. I believe the best way to address these shortfalls, and continually improve our outcomes with a finite amount of resources, is through strengthening primary care.

PBN: How many physicians are on staff at Thundermist Health Center in South County – and do you hope to expand that number?
KLAUS:
We have three physicians, three primary care nurse practitioners, two QuickCare nurse practitioners, one psychiatric nurse practitioner, two behavioral health counselors, and multiple nurses and medical assistants. Our new facility opened in April and we will have a grand opening and ribbon-cutting on September 28th at 4:30 p.m. In our previous building, we were at capacity, but we are currently at only three-fourths capacity with plenty of room to expand. We are taking new patients quickly and I look forward to adding new providers over the coming year as we grow.

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PBN: Have you identified any health problems, for instance Lyme disease, that are particularly common in South County in your own work there as a physician?
KLAUS:
Lyme disease is particularly common in South County. The record level snow fall this past winter means more ticks were insulated from the cold temperatures and survived the winter, which has increased the number of Lyme disease we have diagnosed this year. It takes a minimum of 36 hours of a tick being attached to transmit the Lyme bacteria so frequent tick checks and removal after spending time outside remains the best prevention of Lyme disease. There are simple blood tests for the disease and it can be treated with oral antibiotics effectively when diagnosed.

PBN: What do you like most about Thundermist Health Center in South County – what separates it from its peers and competitors?
KLAUS:
Thundermist Health Center of South County is an amazing place to work. There is a dedicated group of providers and staff that have been there from our small office in a previous furniture store to our new state-of-the-art facility. Beyond the amazing staff, I think what separates Thundermist from its peers is our commitment to using data to improve our system of health care delivery. Every week we receive updated reports about our patient panel and what recommended health services they are due. These reports guarantee I am always up to date on the most evidence based practice and always thinking how I can take the best care of my patients.

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