In her first two months on the job at the new Hillsboro Clinic, Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner Laurie Methvin has seen more variety among her patients than expected.

She expected to see many elderly patients, but she was surprised by how many young patients she has had, Methvin said.

“Something new every day,” she said.

This is her first time working in a brand-new clinic, but she had always heard seeing five patients a day is a good amount for a new clinic. Methvin sees about 10 patients each day. Methvin said the higher than expected patient load could be related to the closure of the Via Christi clinic in Hillsboro earlier this year, with Via Christi’s displaced patients needing a new health care provider.

“I like the people here in this community,” Methvin said. “They’re very nice.”

She said she is happy to be in a family practice setting now after spending most of her career in other specialties in Wichita and Newton. Methvin received her bachelor’s degree in nursing in 1985 from St. Mary’s of the Plains College. She received her master’s degree from Wichita State University in 1999.

She and her husband, Jeff, live near Peabody. They have two children, both studying health fields at Kansas State University. Seth is 20 years old and studying to become an optometrist, and 18-year-old Michaela just changed her major to pre-nursing.