Healthcare Foundation Steering Committee & TCMH Board of Trustees
Omanez Fockler’s nursing career began at her community hospital—TCMH—in 1959. “Before the hospital was built, most people traveled to Waynesville over very crooked roads for their hospital care,” Omanez remembered. In those days, the county doctors did a little bit of everything—delivering babies in their offices and performing occasional surgeries, too. Because of time and distance some serious health issues didn’t make it to a hospital.
TCMH eased the time and distance for healthcare services when its doors opened in 1958. Omanez also remembers the “great surgery suite”—a one-room operating room—in the new hospital. She was at TCMH as a nurse when the surgery department was expanded and full-time general surgeons were added, too. Today, Omanez is excited to be part of building a new surgical department at TCMH.
“These new operating rooms will be equipped to handle the technology we have available today,” Omanez said, noting that the new department will help attract new surgeons and ancillary staff.“Just because we’re in rural America doesn’t mean we have to ‘make do’.The citizens of Texas County deserve to have the same things found in more urban areas.”
“This is a win-win for patients and for their families; excellent healthcare services are right here, easily accessible,” Omanez explained.“As I’ve gotten older, I realize even more how important it is to have TCMH here to not only provide my care but to make it easy for me and my husband to not have to travel and have the expenses associated with out of town care.”