Texas County Memorial Hospital officials are searching for a nurse practitioner to fill the vacancy created by the April 1 resignation of Debra Buckle, family nurse practitioner at the TCMH Medical Complex in Houston.
Buckle began working at TCMH in November 2003. She is leaving the position at TCMH to work at an urgent care clinic in the Kansas City area near the homes of her son, daughter and two grandchildren.
“This is the hardest decision I have ever had to make,” Buckle said. “I really miss my family and have held out for as long as I could.”
Buckle explained that her two granddaughters “grow up before your eyes.” The move will also put her closer to her aging parents in Kansas.
“I would love to take this job with TCMH and move it to Kansas City,” Buckle said, adding that a lot of prayer has gone into her decision. “I believe God wants me there with my children and grandchildren at this time.”
Buckle was concerned about any negativity that might cloud her resignation.
“I have absolutely no complaints about working for Texas County Memorial Hospital,” she said. “They are excellent in the way they treat their providers, and they have never asked me to do anything I didn’t want to do.”
In her time with TCMH, Buckle has collaborated with several physicians, provided in-house healthcare service once a week at the Durham Company in Houston and assisted with sports physicals and numerous other hospital screening events. Most recently, she helped provide coverage at the TCMH Family Clinic in Licking.
“In my position, one can only hope to meet and work with someone of Debra Buckle’s caliber and work ethic,” said Wes Murray, chief executive officer at TCMH. “We at Texas County Memorial Hospital fully support the reasons Debra has chosen to move on from here.”
Buckle’s last full time day is June 6, but she will continue to work at the medical complex into the summer to help a new nurse practitioner transition into the position. In addition, Dr. Michael Moore is currently seeing patients part-time in the medical complex, and Dr. Russell Huq will begin working full-time in the medical complex in September.
“We appreciate Debra’s willingness to assist us with transitioning the patients to a new provider,” Murray said. “We also appreciate the patients’ understanding that Debra is moving on, but we have other very qualified healthcare providers to manage their care in her absence.”