Rural Health Clinic welcomes Dr. McNear
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By Carmen Ensinger
Thomas H. Boyd Hospital’s Rural Health Clinic welcomes Dr. Michael McNear as the newest member of their physician’s staff.
McNear is well known in the Greene County community having had a medical office on Carrollton Square for the past 22 years.
“I started with Illini Medical Associates in July of 1999 right out of residency and had the office up on Carrollton Square for 22 years,” McNear said. “I started out going between Jerseyville, Roodhouse and Carrollton and then ended up full time in Carrollton.”
McNear was born and raised in Brighton, graduating from Southwestern High School in 1988. He attended Washington University in St. Louis, graduating in 1992 with a Major in Biology and a Minor in Economics. He then went to SIU School of Medicine in Springfield, graduating in 1996, doing his internal medicine residency at St. John’s Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis from 1996 to 1999.
Following his residency, he joined Illini Medical and started practicing medicine in Carrollton, so it is only logical he would move to the community as well.
It was his minor in economics that would lead McNear to pursue the administrative side of the medical field.
“I kind of worked myself through to become the CEO of the medical group and still practice some at the clinic,” he said. “Then, we merged with Jersey Community Hospital in January of 2015 and I became the Chief Medical Officer at JCH and still did clinic and then in July a change occurred and JCH and I parted ways and I joined Boyd and came on staff as a physician.”
McNear said the reason he decided to leave JCH was because he didn’t want to leave the community he loved or his family.
“In order to take the next step in being a CMO, I would either have to move or drive to St. Louis and I didn’t want to do either,” he said. “I wanted to stay here close to home and stay local. I didn’t have any plans to move. All of my family is here so when I sat down to decide what I wanted to do, this opportunity came up and we were able to come together and restart the office here.”
Dr. McNear’s office is located in Dr. Parcon’s old office, which is located across the street from the hospital. The building has been home to Locust Street Mental Health Services but has not been used as a medical facility since Dr. Parcon passed away in 2018.
The building is currently being remodeled and updated.
McNear said he is looking forward to just being with patients again.
“I’ve been in administration since 2010 when I became CEO of Illini Medical, but prior to that I had been president of the medical group for four years,” he said. “So I have really been involved in administration since 2006 and while I enjoy it, and its fun, I think it is time to get back into the practice of medicine. I was in administration for 15 years, so I’m thrilled to be back in practice again and to be with Boyd Hospital and looking forward to have my patients come here and see me.”
In addition to McNear, Nurse Practitioner Kendall Brown will also be located in the clinic.
“She will be here as well, especially to see kids and things like that,” McNear said. “She has got her own primary care practice that she will be bringing with her that she has kind of built up and so we will be the team that will be here.”
Hours of the clinic will be every day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. but they are looking at having some early hours starting at 7 a.m. at least one day a week, possibly on Tuesday.
McNear said he is taking new patients.
“I hope a lot of my patients that I have taken care of for 20 years will come see me,” he said. “But we will also be taking new patients as well, both myself and Kendall. I think it is going to work out great and hopefully the patients will like it and we will build up a good practice here.”
