Rangers – “We're often referred to as a startup”: Ready for a fresh start in physician practice

Grubök is also in charge of the medicine cabinet at Reingers 2. Naturally, Mayor Andreas Kozar (ÖVP) – the owner of the building – is very happy. He sees this as a challenge to “the general trend whereby female ordinators in increasingly vulnerable rural areas cannot be filled.” Without ordination, according to Kozar, medical care will be curtailed throughout the northern Ghamundar region.

Support the doctor from many sides

The Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK) announced in the fall that Grubök had successfully completed the application process. The center of her life is in the area, which means she has a “close connection” to the community. She was welcomed here with open arms and praised the support from the community and her three new employees. She confirms: “A lot of positive things have happened, and we have a lot of motivation and I will do my best.”

After more than a year, the team has to rebuild its patient base, essentially starting from scratch. “I often refer to us as a startup,” smiles Manuela Grubock. However: the people of the area simply deserve good medical care. The idea of ​​going into private practice one day has been around for a long time — Grubock is a surgeon at Waidhofen State Hospital and will continue to work there in a reduced capacity. Surgery also extends into general medicine, especially when it comes to wound management, she says.

Is proximity to a doctor crucial when choosing a place to live?

Especially in the case of a small town in the country, the community must support the doctor, Andreas Kozar recalled last year: “It is difficult for a young family to decide to set up a camp in the upper Waldviertel if medical care was at least available. It was not guaranteed that close to home it was.”

This practice has existed at this site since 1998 and has now been structurally brought into the present. Kozar estimates the costs at around 150,000 euros, which have now been defrayed with state support. The first step was to vacate the rooms, replace windows, replace electrical fixtures and flooring, install air conditioning and furnish them with new furniture. A total of six fully renovated rooms are now available for the new team in training.

Celebrate with health care providers, music and school

For a small community, a successful succession is a cause for celebration. On Easter Monday (April 1st), the keys to ordination will be presented to Manuela Grubock. Village Renewal Associations take care of the physical health of the festival guests, and organizations such as the Red Cross, Volkshilfe, Relief and Community Nurse as future partners of the doctor will also provide information about their offers. Bands from the town band of Litschau and Reingers Elementary School will accompany the concert.