Through much of his pre-med curriculum and medical school, Jonathan Pike, MD, thought about eventually caring for patients in his hometown.

And it just so happened that the timing is right for Dr. Pike to fulfill that dream. He recently joined The University of Kansas Health System Family Medicine at 1309 Polk St. in Great Bend. (Its former name was Central Kansas Family Practice.)

“I was just finishing up my residency in family medicine and this great opportunity opened up,” said Dr. Pike, who is accepting new patients. “Great Bend has always been home, and this was clearly the right choice for me.”

He also noted that he made the right decision by concentrating on family medicine.

“I have the privilege of building relationships with each generation of families – from delivering babies to caring for newborns to end-of-life care and everything in between,” he said. “This is what drew me to family medicine.

“I will enjoy having the ability to form relationships across a lifetime. You can’t do that in some other areas of medicine.”

As a Great Bend native, Dr. Pike has known his new colleagues Perry Smith, MD, and Jeff Brozek, MD, for many years.

“Dr. Smith was a mentor to me throughout pre-med and medical school. He allowed me to learn during multiple family medicine rotations, teaching me as I went along.”

His other colleagues are Teri Turkle-Huslig, MD, Charles Keener, MD, Stanley Hatesohl, MD, Gina Westhoff, physician assistant, and Elise Snapp, advanced practice registered nurse. One of the physicians is always on call.

Dr. Pike considers himself fortunate to be part of the family medicine group, which is now part of The University of Kansas Health System.

“The transition to The University of Kansas Health System has increased our recognition around the state and elsewhere, which will help with recruiting doctors and advanced practice providers,” he explained. “In addition, our patients now have greater access to multiple specialists.

“The transfer of information among all these specialists will benefit our patients and their families,” he said. “We can keep everyone in the loop with our open communications.”

Dr. Pike is a 2006 graduate of Great Bend High School, where he played on the 2005 and 2006 5A state championship basketball teams. His parents still live in Great Bend.

In 2008, Dr. Pike earned an associate degree in liberal studies at Barton Community College and two years later he received his bachelor’s degree in biology from Kansas State University.

Dr. Pike earned his doctor of medicine degree from the University of Kansas School of Medicine in 2015. He completed his residency and postgraduate training at Via Christi Health in Wichita a few months ago.

Dr. Smith said he and his colleagues are “certainly excited to welcome a physician of Dr. Pike’s quality, especially because he is a hometown boy and a fine individual.

“We need more primary care physicians in this region and Dr. Pike will help fill that void,” Dr. Smith added. “He will offer the full range of services – from obstetrics to geriatrics. He is well trained and will do an excellent job.”

Dr. Pike is accepting new patients. Family medicine appointments can be scheduled by calling 620-792-5341.