Houston, MO–Texas County Memorial Hospital is proud to announce that Jessica (VanBibber) King, MD, a board-certified family medicine physician is returning to the community that helped raise her to practice medicine.
King, a graduate of Mountain Grove High School and oldest daughter of Fred VanBibber, Mayor for the City of Mountain Grove, and Kathy, a much-loved, retired school teacher for the community, has inked a four-year contract with Texas County Memorial Hospital that will officially begin on April 23rd.
King will join Elton Hoerning, MD, and begin seeing patients at the TCMH Mountain Grove Clinic. King will work three days per week in Mountain Grove, and will see patients at the Medical Complex in Houston two days per week.
Both King and Hoerning will serve the Mountain Grove community with walk-in and scheduled patients from birth, to end of life. They will treat patients who have anything from routine care needs to complex medical conditions.
King, and her husband Derrick, have two children, Olivia-4 years and Noah-3 years.
“It feels like we’re finally going to be the people we’ve always been,” King said, when she explained what moving back to Mountain Grove meant to her.
“We are looking forward to slowing down a bit and getting to enjoy a different pace of life than we have been used to,” King said. “It means a lot to be welcomed back to this community, but in a different role.”
King explained that “good people” live in the community, and she wants them to know that they can get “good care” there too.
“I want to live authentically and be able to explain things to my patients in a way that they can understand,” King said.
King received her dual bachelor of arts/doctorate of medicine degree from the University of Missouri in Kansas City and she completed her residency in family medicine through Cox Health System in Springfield.
King began her career in a traditional outpatient clinic setting in Washington, Missouri, but has been providing care to long-term care patients for the last seven years.
“I am looking forward to helping my patients get better sooner by getting involved in their care earlier on through the clinic setting,” King explained. “Hopefully I can make a difference in their lives.”
“I want my patients to know that living a healthy lifestyle is achievable, even for those that do have kids,” King said.
“I will give my patients good advice, explain to them how their body works and hopefully help them connect to the roots of what makes them feel a certain way,” King explained.
King and her family are relocating to Mountain Grove from Springfield where she has been working for Cox Senior Health, serving long-term care patients for the last four years.
During her time in Springfield, King also served as the hospice medical director for two different hospice agencies, a patient care area that has always been close to her heart.
The VanBibbers shared mutual excitement when asked how they felt about their daughter and her family moving to Mountain Grove.
“We are excited to have them close to home,” Fred VanBibber said. “Practicing medicine in her hometown will be very successful for her.”
Fred VanBibber mentioned that King likes to stay busy when working, so he hopes the hospital and the community can help her get there quickly.
“I couldn’t imagine that we would ever get to have them back here,” Kathy VanBibber said. “We are so excited!”
“We are very fortunate to get to bring one of Mountain Grove’s very own back to the community,” Wes Murray, Texas County Memorial Hospital chief executive officer said.
“It is not very often that we have an opportunity like this come up,” Murray explained. “I think the VanBibbers and the Mountain Grove community will be very blessed because of this collaboration for many years to come.”
“We want to make Mountain Grove our forever home,” King explained. “We want to become a part of community sporting events, church and establish a place for our children to come home to after they go off to college.”
The King family is looking forward to many more family get-togethers and much needed downtime getting to enjoy the outdoors. They hope to have more days set aside for kayaking and camping in the future and they are excited to get to enjoy a little slower pace that life in the Ozarks can bring.
For additional information or to schedule an appointment with King or Hoerning at the TCMH Mountain Grove Clinic, please call (417) 926-1770. To schedule an appointment with King at the TCMH Medical Complex in Houston, please call (417) 967-5435.
