SMALL-TOWN MEDICAL CLINIC DISPENSES BIG-CITY SERVICES TO PEOPLE IN CHAFFEE

Small-town doctors used to carry everything they needed in a small black bag. These days there isn't a bag big enough to accommodate a modern doctor.

With technologically-advanced equipment becoming more available, the services that a small medical staff can offer is extensive.

A clinic in Chaffee is providing a nearly unlimited range of diagnostic services, from continuous blood pressure measurement to heart-function testing to ultra-sound. With a complete lab on site and a full-time lab technician, the Chaffee Medical Clinic is also able to furnish blood and urine testing while the patient waits.

This is a great advantage over sending the samples off to a lab, which is often backed up with similar samples from other clinics. In that case a patient might have to wait days or weeks before a course of treatment can be initiated.

Dr. Thymious Lambrou and his staff of seven at the Chaffee Medical Clinic cannot only provide on-site testing, they are able to perform a wide range of physicals, X-rays, echocardiograms and electrocardiograms. Lambrou is able to perform a complete diagnosis in a short period of time and can either begin treatment or refer the patient to a specialist.

Lambrou's wife, Becky Lambrou, is an executive assistant at the clinic. She said breaking the stereotype of the small-town doctor is a challenge.

"Some people have a false impression that you have to go to Cape Girardeau to get really professional care," she said. "We have a really valuable commodity, a valuable tool here (the lab) that allows us to run tests while the patient is waiting. As more people become exposed to (the small clinic) they'll realize how great it is."

She said her husband has a wide range of experience, training for 15 years in hospitals in New York, Houston and Chicago, as well as significant work in the operating room. He had a practice as a medical oncologist in Poplar Bluff before leaving to become a family practitioner about eight years ago.

The Chaffee Medical Clinic's varied resources and depth of experience have made it a frequented place with between 300 and 500 patients a month coming in. Becky Lambrou said the clinic will expand if necessary but they're not interested in getting too large.