Why?... That was Ageena’s favorite question as a kid and it’s still her favorite as an adult. In all the important things in life when why can be figured out then the rest is more understandable. We are designing our clinic, Your Best Health, so that we can spend the time to figure out the why, as much as it can be known, and then find a way to help you achieve your goals. 

​

Why DPC? Direct Primary Care is a new clinic model, it’s only been around for about 20 years, but it’s growing fast because it does something that other clinic models can’t do. It gives doctors time to build relationships with their patients and patients access to their doctors when they need them.

 

Why Sallisaw, OK? Mark and Ageena moved here in 2022 because it was the halfway point between Ageena’s Family Medicine Residency in Tahlequah and Mark’s Hospital Chaplain job in Fort Smith. She grew up in the country and he always wanted to live in the country and we found a cute little place north of town that would give us the feeling of living in the country without too much acreage to take care of with both of us working and commuting. We are blessed with friendly neighbors and everyone we have interacted with in town from the Farmer’s Market to the stores to the library have been friendly and helpful. We enjoy living just outside Sallisaw, love our little place, and this just feels right.

​

Why now? Ageena graduated from Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine in May of 2022 and started a Family Medicine Residency program with the Cherokee Nation in July of 2022. She has finished her first year of residency and has chosen to stay and continue to learn and grow as a physician but now as a fully licensed physician in Oklahoma, and soon Arkansas too, it's time to moonlight. Moonlighting for physicians in residency means that she can work as a physician while she continues to learn in her program. She could work at an ER or urgent care, or other already established place, but her dream since starting on this path to become a doctor has always been to have her own clinic where she can take care of people, learn, grow with them, help them to achieve their best health and there is no better time to start that than now.

​

Why us? Maybe the best way to answer that is to let you get to know us better. Ageena returned to school at 48 years old to finish a bachelor’s degree so that she could go to medical school. She worked for a year in an urgent care in St. Louis then was accepted to and attended medical school for 4 years and now is in her second year of residency. Ageena … I have answered the question why I would do this at my age many times and I will tell you that I have felt led by the Lord to pursue this path and He has continued to open the doors, so I continue to step through them. I started on the pre-med path after I graduated from high school in the 80’s but left college disillusioned and spent a life working in gas stations, factories, wastewater treatment plants, and then helping my mom start her own tax business. I met Mark in Montana and started a life as a pastor’s wife and when we adopted our son, as a stay at home mom. Our son was the delight of our life, the source of so much joy, and my first teacher on the road to becoming a doctor. He had a lot of medical needs and spent much time in and out of the hospital and needing special accommodations. He taught me to always look at the person first, not the computer or lab values or other things. He taught me that every person needs an advocate, someone in their corner, on their side, with their best interest in mind. He taught me that no matter what medical conditions are in a person’s life, they can still lead a happy, joy filled, productive life with the right support and care. I was blessed to spend nearly 18 years learning and loving and caring for him and then he taught me the most important lesson of all. Everyone dies but it is how we live that matters. When we held him for his last breath, surrounded by our family and loved ones, my husband and I wanted nothing more than to lay our heads next to him and finish this race together. But that was not our time and Mark and I continue in this life, living the lessons that we have learned, most important of all is to care for each person that God puts in front of us to the best of our ability. Mark … I started seminary to become a Pastor after finishing college and then met Ageena in 1995 and life has been a whirlwind. I grew up in a small town in North Carolina, went to college near Milwaukee and seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana and then to my vicarage in a tiny little town in western Montana. And there in the middle of what felt like nowhere was my Ageena. We have been partners and friends all these years. I served in small rural churches as a Lutheran pastor in Nebraska, western Oklahoma, Texas and Missouri. Then I realized that my favorite part of being a pastor was spending one on one time, helping people in their times of need. John, our son, came to us at just a few hours old and needed a lot of care, but mostly love and it’s amazing how a 5 pound little boy can turn you into a father. Dad. My favorite job ever. Through his years of growing up he was a joy I had never known previously and an inspiration to go and serve and care. John spent a lot of time in the hospital and as we sat at his bedside time and again in fear and worry and prayer, I realized that my long held dream of being a hospital chaplain was something that I should pursue. We picked up stakes and moved to St. Louis for all new adventures while I learned to be a chaplain and started working in some of the big hospitals there. When Ageena was accepted to med school and we moved to Fort Smith, God opened the doors for me to be a chaplain at Mercy. I loved the time I had one on one with patients and with their families, caring for them, advocating for them. When John died and Ageena and I were still here I had to find my way to do this life without him. Where to put all that love and care that I had for him. I thought I would move into counseling and further my skills at one on one care and then when Ageena got the green light to start her own practice I realized that my best friend and I had always been a great team in caring for John and we would be a great team in caring for the patients that she would see. I came on board as the Practice Manager so that I can answer phones and take care of things while she continues to learn in residency. So if you are looking for a doctor who cares for you, wants to be your advocate, gets to know you and your goals, and then works to help you achieve your best health, well that’s exactly what Ageena is doing in her residency program with the patients that she cares for there and what we are bringing to Sallisaw at Your Best Health. Working together we can provide personal, timely care, helping you meet your health goals.