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Working conditions have improved, Chacon says, but the area's concentration of agro-industry is still problematic. The 96-year-old woman is waiting for Chacon in a wheelchair. She's neatly dressed and mentally sharp, although hard of hearing. "Oh, what a great heart!" Chacon exclaims after placing his stethoscope on her chest. He prescribes medication for the woman's leg. A young woman suffering acute depression – "I'm crying a lot and feeling out of control," she tells Chacon – and an old family friend battling problems exacerbated by smoking and drinking are among other patients Chacon sees this morning. Periodically, he receives and sends text messages about other patients who've been admitted to the hospital next door. "He cares about this town a lot." Just before noon, Chacon's wife, Lindsay, who works as a pharmacist nearby, drops off their 5-year-old daughter Keira, who plays on an office computer while she eats lunch. The couple also has two sons – Francisco, 11, and Caleb, 7. Lindsay, who's from the Kansas City area, admits that moving to Liberal took time for her to adjust to. She says her husband could have practiced elsewhere, but ultimately decided Liberal was where he was needed. "He cares about this town a lot," she says. "It helps that I have an understanding of the culture," Chacon says. Chacon said his growing patient load tells him the area is underserved by doctors. Many come to him after being unable to see their regular physician. Liberal has trouble attracting doctors and retaining those who do come, he said. Chacon has no plans to leave. All the motivation he needs comes in the form of his patients. "I learn every day," he says. "You really just learn medicine at the bedside." Being a small-town doctor used to mean being on call 24/7 – not exactly a selling point for many physicians deciding where to practice. But a married team of doctors in Quinter, Kan. (pop. 918) seems to have struck an enviable balance between work and the rest of life. And in the process, they're contributing more than just medical care to their community. "We like to say you can still have a lifestyle and a life," says Dr. Shelly Gruenbacher, who practices in the Gove County town with her husband, Doug. Quinter is a farming community located on Interstate 70 about three hours west of Salina. It's probably best known as the gateway to the Castle Rock chalk formation. Family medicine … and a family The Gruenbachers moved there in 2002, after completing their studies at the University of Kansas School of Medicine–Wichita and doing their residency at Smoky Hill Family Medicine Residency Program in Salina. They have four children, ages 4 to 12. Both come from small-town backgrounds. Shelly grew up in Stockton in north-central Kansas; Doug outside Wichita in rural Andale. Shelly says asthma and knee problems she battled as a high school athlete helped lead her into medicine. "I thought if I were the doctor, I would have handled things differently." Doug says he always enjoyed science and interacting with people. "Medicine was a great way to fulfill all of those things," he said. They met at KU medical school and married during their third year, by which time they'd transferred to the Wichita campus. "I got a husband, a degree, and a job I like out of the deal, " Shelly jokes. "The kind of practice we wanted" Serving their fourth-year rural rotation at Gove County Medical Center helped the Gruenbachers decide Quinter was the right spot for them. "We kind of fell in love with this community and the docs we worked with,'' Shelly explains. "This was the kind of practice we wanted – OBs, C-sections, scopes, minor surgery," Shelly says. The hospital draws patients from an eight-county area, largely because of its obstetrics services. About 80 babies a year are delivered there. Shelly says practicing medicine in a small town is more personal than it might be in a larger setting. "The really good things are higher, and the bad things are lower." For instance, a young boy whom Doug had grown close to through 4-H activities was killed in a farm accident that doctors could do nothing about. "That was a horrible experience," Doug recalls. There are joyous days as well, as when the couple delivered a baby from a mother whose placenta had separated from her uterus. "She and the baby were both fine," recalls Shelly. "That was a day when everybody did well." For the most part, working together so closely goes smoothly, although Shelly says her husband "did stab me" during one memorable incident. "We were doing a C-section and had pronounced bleeding we were trying to control. Dr. Shelly Gruenbacher, Gove County Medical Center "A Frosty Morn in Kansas" by Rosanne Ballou, Ottawa County 8 9