Nevada Health Centers reports new providers, same‑day appointments and expanded community clinics in Elko County

Nevada Health Centers told the Elko County Board of Health on Thursday that it has added multiple providers in Elko and neighboring towns and increased capacity for same‑day primary care appointments. Carrie Preston, practice manager for the Elko, Wendover, Jackpot, Austin and Carlin clinics, said two new providers have already started in Elko — nurse practitioner Janie Owen (seeing patients since July) and a provider introduced as Sarah “Red” Draves, who will begin seeing patients on Nov. 2 — and that an MD, Dr. Potter Jones, will join the Elko team in October. Preston said another local nurse practitioner is in final interview stages. Preston told the board, “The ability to get in to see your provider, same day or next day, has increased so much over just the last month alone.” She said the clinic’s ability to offer same‑day appointments had improved from multi‑month waits earlier in the year to same‑day openings now. Services and outreach: Preston said the clinics have expanded immunization efforts for school‑age children (more than 200 children seen in recent weeks for catch‑up shots), family‑planning services provided by the new provider, an upcoming mammography van visit and dental sealant clinics for second graders that reached 218 students across Elko County. Pharmacy and prescriptions: Preston said the Elko clinic’s pharmacy requires patients to be established with the clinic’s providers before it will fill prescriptions written elsewhere; a patient can become established and then have a provider reissue the prescription to fill at the clinic pharmacy. Staffing and community impact: board members praised the recruitment progress. Preston said the increased provider staffing opens more local non‑provider positions, such as front‑office and medical‑assistant jobs. Discussion versus decision: this presentation was informational; no board action was taken.