Eastern Plumas Health Care has a new secret weapon. His name is Bryan Gregory, and he’s their new Director of Clinics. Gregory has the energy of ten normal men, which goes a long ways towards creating a positive environment – he personally greets and rooms patients when necessary, and he has expanded hours and services to provide EPHC’s patients the health care services they need. Gregory also has a broad base of experience that is already paying off in terms of creating friendly, efficiently run clinics offering shorter wait times, and easier access to care. Gregory has a MBA as well as a BS degree in Health Care Management from St. Leo University. Prior to coming to EPHC, he was responsible for a large multi-state electronic medical record implementation and a practice management redesign of 225 ambulatory clinics and five hospitals.
At a time when the economy has caused Plumas County businesses including EPHC to struggle, it’s a breath of fresh air to see all of the positive growth occurring at EPHC’s clinics, which are located in Graeagle, Portola, Indian Valley and Loyalton. All clinics are accepting new patients. To further increase access at the Graeagle Clinic, Gregory has added a second regular provider to the schedule, meaning that wait times are down, and walk-in patients can be readily accommodated. Both Dr. Lovsho Phen and Dr. Barnett Grier — internists and family practice physicians who have been with EPHC since 2006 — are now regularly seeing patients in Graeagle.
Dr. Grier received his medical degree from UCLA School of Medicine, serving his residency at Los Angeles County USC Medical Center. He has extensive experience in internal medicine, family practice, and urgent care in both rural and urban settings. Dr. Grier’s broad spectrum of service includes acting as a Clinical Adjunct Professor for the Physician Residency Program at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, as well as serving as Research Associate and Clinical Instructor for the National Cancer Institute’s Partners in Prevention Program through UCLA School of Medicine.
Dr. Phen, whose parents are Chinese, is a native of Indore, India, where she received her medical degree and completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology. She completed her internal medicine residency in Youngstown, OH at St. Elizabeth Hospital. Dr. Phen comes from a family of doctors and dentists. Her father is a dentist, and she is the youngest of five children, all of whom are in the medical field. Her nieces and nephews, she said, are keeping up the family tradition– three are dentists and four are medical doctors. Dr. Phen practices internal medicine at EPHC. Most of her patients are elderly, and she truly enjoys this patient population, though she also delivers the occasional baby, she said—the last time in 2008 in EPHC’s emergency room.
Gregory has other expansion efforts planned for the Graeagle Clinic that will bring much needed specialty services to Graeagle patients. Dr. Dhond is a much respected cardiologist there, seeing patients every other Friday. Because Dr. Dhond’s services are very much in demand, beginning in February his technician will perform echocardiograms on the Thursday before his scheduled Friday appointments. Dr. Dhond can read the echos from his Fairfield, CA office, which will greatly expand the number of cardiology patients he can accommodate at the Graeagle Clinic.
Dr. Wendy Flapan, who joins the staff in March, will see patients in Graeagle and Portola. She is a Board Certified Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic disorders of the spine, muscles, joints, and nerves. She utilizes a broad range of non-surgical, conventional treatments including physical therapy, exercise programs, injection techniques, medication management, and electrodiagnostics. Dr. Flapan complements these more traditional services with alternative treatments that include osteopathic manipulation and medical acupuncture.  
Dr. Flapan said she is looking forward to partnering with her new colleagues and patients to provide the highest quality care when dealing with pain of the musculoskeletal and nervous system. Her goal is to reduce pain, improve function, and “restore a vibrant quality of life.”
Gregory is also introducing significant changes to the Portola Clinic. Besides introducing Dr. Flapan, family nurse practitioner Mary Morrison recently returned to a full time schedule at the Portola Clinic. Morrison has many years of experience in Portola and Quincy as an FNP and 14 years of experience with a Gastroenterology specialist in Truckee. “Mary’s extensive experience in GI and working with Hepatitis C patients, coupled with her friendly patient centered care, was needed in Portola,” said Gregory. Morrison is working with EPHC’s Gastroenterologist, Dr. Charles Cox, to strengthen GI and Hepatitis treatment services and to provide education and increased access to these patients. She continues to see her other primary care patients, as well.
Dr. Michelle Kim received her medical degree from UC Davis Medical School and came to EPHC in 2012 after working for eleven years at Sutter Health in Davis. She is EPHC’s Director of Clinics and already is beloved as a doctor for her uncanny ability to get to the bottom of difficult to diagnose problems as well as for her kind and thorough care. Dr. Kim also is committed to increasing access to care for patients at all of EPHC’s clinics. Currently, Gregory is working with her in devising a plan to make sure patients get all of the lab tests and screenings they need for their age and health history. In addition, they are working on a plan to provide education and easy access to preventive testing and screenings, including those for cancer, heart, and diabetes, which are available at no or low cost to Medicare patients and most patients who have insurance, including those who have the new Covered California plans.
Finally, Christina Potter, FNP, has recently returned to the Loyalton Clinic following her maternity leave. The Loyalton Clinic’s hours were cut during her absence, but it is back up to speed, with Potter seeing patients Mon. through Thurs., from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm.
With Gregory’s energy and vision, these are just the first in a series of positive changes he plans to implement—all with an eye towards increasing access to care and giving Plumas County’s patient population the services they need most.
Patients wishing to make an appointment or who have questions about EPHC’s many providers and services should call 530.832.6600.