An Interview with
Dr. Mckenna

I've heard you say that you are humbled by the love this community has shown you and your family. Can you explain that to me?

Well, my wife and I moved here to start a family and actually got pregnant the month we moved to Decatur. I was busy trying to start a practice from scratch, help the hospital start an orthopaedic surgery service, and get accustomed to the differences between being a trauma surgeon and a small town orthopaedic surgeon when fate stepped in.

My wife was 4 months pregnant when she started to experience pre-term labor. She was restricted to complete bed rest with the constant threat of losing our baby. We were new to the community, knew no one and I was starting a practice while being the only orthopaedic surgeon on call for the hospital's emergency room. Karla wasn't even able to get our of bed to feed herself without cramping and bleeding. I was trying to set up trays in the morning so she would have plenty to eat and drink. My office staff or our new friends would try to bring lunch and some needed company to Karla in the middle of the day. The problem was dinner. Even early on, it seemed there was always some emergency case at the hospital and I was having significant difficulty being a good husband and the type of doctor I wanted to be. The nurses at the hospital recognized the problem and without our knowledge circulated a sign-up list to bring our family dinner every night. To have a staff and community adopt you and take on the responsibility of helping you provide for your pregnant wife was truly a humbling experience. There is no way to even tell someone that story without feeling overwhelmed.

I grew up on a quarter horse ranch in a small town in Southern Oklahoma. When I left home to go to college, I thought I would never live in a small town again. The kink in that plan was that while I was an Orthopedic Surgery Resident in Dallas I met and married a beautiful Texas girl. Together we moved to Tampa, Florida, to finish my training.

While I was a Trauma Surgeon doing a Fellowship at Tampa General Hospital, I was working 100 hours a week and my wife and I were not seeing each other very much. One night, after a particularly brutal weekend of work, I came home to my wife who informed me that she was ready to have a baby and I could be there for it or not. Basically, she said I could stay a Trauma Surgeon in Florida or I could stay married. She continued to let me know she was a Texas girl and she needed to move back to Texas and start a family.

We had come to a crossroad, not only in our relationship but also in my career. Thankfully, I made the right decision. When we interviewed in Decatur Karla fell in love with the people and the community very quickly. As you can imagine I was a little hesitant at first, leaving a 2,000 bed hospital and moving to a small town.

Looking back it is almost unbelievable how well things have worked out for my family. We moved to Decatur, were pregnant the first month we moved here and now I have an amazing four year old daughter and a beautiful wife who is 7 months pregnant with our second little girl right now. From personal and professional points of view we could not have made a better decision.

What type of challenges were you referring to?

Decatur had never had a full time orthopedic surgeon, which meant they did not have the type of operating equipment that I would need. It also meant that none of the surgical staff had scrubbed orthopedic cases since their training. A lot of time was spent during my first year training staff and ordering equipment.

The growth has been exiting but has really pushed the staff. When I first moved here, the surgery staff consisted of 9 people. Now the surgery department has 24 employees. The volume has gone from an average of 102 cases monthly to around 280 cases a month.

Right now I would put our hospital up against any hospital I have ever worked at when it comes to the equipment, the training of the surgery staff and the quality of care delivered.

That is a very interesting statement. What other hospitals have you worked at?

The best hospital was the facility at which I did my Fellowship Training. Tampa General Hospital is a Level I Trauma Center and all the Orthopedics were performed by a member of the same group. Every member of the group was fellowship trained and looked upon as a leader in his particular field of Orthopedics. After that I guess I would say that Walter Reed Army Medical Center would be next on the list. While a Resident I did rotations at Walter Reed in Pediatric Orthopedics and Pediatric and Adult Spine. I was very impressed with the dedication of the Military Orthopedic Surgeons at Walter Reed. Dr. Kathleen McHale and Dr. David Polly were instrumental in making me a better surgeon. I look back fondly on my work and training at Walter Reed.

There were many other hospitals that I worked at as an orthopedic resident or medical student. None would I rank above Wise Regional. The interesting thing at our hospital is we continue to improve. The facilities keep getting better. Last year the hospital added a 35,000 square foot Physical Therapy Center with an indoor lap pool, a separate therapy pool with Aquatic Physical Therapy, underwater camera gait analysis, and rooms with the most technological advanced Physical Therapy Equipment available. The center also provides child care, aerobics classes, swim classes and an entire range of exercise classes and exercise equipment. This year the hospital helped bring a brand new/latest technology Open MRI to Wise County.

The future looks bright. Next year the hospital will add new operating room suites with the most up to date technology available and more inpatient hospital beds with the addition of an East Campus.

You used the term earlier "Fellowship Training". Can you tell me what Fellowship Training is?

First you need to understand the different types of residency programs. I am an orthopedic Surgeon, which means after medical school I completed a five year Specialty Residency Training Program in Orthopedic Surgery. A Fellowship is an extra year after a residence to be subspecialty trained. Basically Fellowship gives you more experience and training. It is just one more way to become a better surgeon.

A Trauma Fellowship gave me the opportunity to see and treat the worst injuries and gain the experience necessary to be the type of surgeon I want to be.

What has been the biggest difference between working for a big group and actually running a private practice?

The best surprise has been how great it is to be surrounded by people who really care about the patient. My staff is incredibly caring. They really think of the patient as our patient. People are not just numbers, they are people that we take care of as a team. I depend on my staff, and they trust me. That is definitely one of the best differences.

The other difference that makes me happy to be here is the family involvement in my practice. I work long hours and it can be hard on my family, but my wife has been great about making sure I get to see my daughter. When we built the new office we actually built on office space across from mine for my wife and daughter; it is great. In Tampa Karla could not even come see me at the hospital, let alone bring a child. There are many times that my daughter actually gets to see patients with me in the office and even makes rounds with me on the weekends. I do not think my relationship with my daughter or with my wife would be as close in Tampa as it is in Wise County. That is the thing I appreciate most about my practice in Decatur.

Dr. McKenna's Education and Certification:

Education: Orthopedic Trauma Fellowship; 8/1/95 to 7/30/96
Tampa General Hospital
4 Columbia Drive, Harbor-Side Medical Tower, Ste 710
Tampa, Florida 33606

Orthopedic Surgery Residence; 7/1/91, Graduation 6/30/95
Dallas/Forth Worth Medical Center
2709 Hospital Blvd, Grand Prairie, Texas 75051

Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery, 6/1/93 to 9/1/93; 5/1/94 to 6/15/94
Pediatric and Adult Spine Surgery
Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20307

Total Joint Arthroplasty; 2/94 to 4/30/94
Presbyterian Hospital of Plano
6200 W Parker Road, Plano, Texas 75093

Sports Medicine; 9/93 to 10/30/93
Texas Sports Medicine Group
7091 Hillcrest, Dallas, Texas 75205

Surgery of the Hand and Upper Extremity; 3/1/93 to 5/27/93
Medical Arts Hospital, Profession Building
6161 Harry Hines Blvd, Dallas, Texas 75235

General Rotation Internship; 7/1/90 to 6/29/91
Dallas/Fort Worth Medical Center
2709 Hospital Blvd, Grand Prairie, Texas 75051

Oklahoma State University, College of Osteopathic Medicine
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Doctor of Osteopathy: 5/86 to 5/90

Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, Oklahoma
Bachelor of Science, Psychology; 1985

Dr. McKenna's Education and Certification cont..

Certification: Board Certified in Orthopedic Surgery
BLS, ACLS, ATLS, AO/ASIF Basic and Advanced