Dr. Hojat Askari, the Yarnell Fire District and residents living in the greater Yarnell area will be celebrating the opening of Dr. Askari’s Yarnell medical practice on Saturday, July 26. The ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place at 9 a.m. at the Yarnell Fire Department’s new administrative building, formerly the National Bank of Arizona. The doctor will also be seeing patients that day.
The Yarnell Hill Fire of June 2013 sparked the idea of a Yarnell clinic. Following that disaster, Dr. Askari offered his assistance to Yavapai County Emergency Management Coordinator Denny Foulk, who relayed the interest to the Yarnell Hill Recovery Group and Yarnell Fire Chief Ben Palm.
A part-time medical clinic staffed by a nurse practitioner had recently closed, creating a need for medical services for people living in the area, many of whom have transportation issues. That need was one of the priorities identified in a Strategic Plan developed by the Yarnell Hill Recovery Group.
The doctor met with Chief Palm in late-2013 to discuss arrangements, and made a visit to Yarnell to look at possible locations for a clinic. Remodeling the bank to accommodate medical examination rooms was made possible through a grant from the Yavapai County Community Foundation.
Including a medical clinic in its administrative offices seemed a good fit for the Yarnell Fire Department. Roughly 90 percent of the department’s calls are for medical assistance. In addition, Dr. Askari will certify the EMT training the Yarnell Fire Department conducts for its own personnel as well as for other fire departments in the area.
Beyond that, the Fire Department is one of the main government entities in the unincorporated community, says Yarnell Fire Department Chief Ben Palm. “We want to assist in the betterment of the community any way we can, and Dr. Askari came highly recommended.”
Dr. Askari graduated from medical school in Budapest, Hungary, in 1999, and completed his residency at Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix. As many as 65 of Dr. Askari’s current patients live Yarnell or the surrounding areas. He expects to see patients in Yarnell approximately twice a month to start, adding days as the demand increases.
For more information about Dr. Askari, visit http://thumbbuttemedical.com. Those wishing to make an appointment for the Yarnell clinic can call 928-910-2624.
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