When Michael Mawdsley thinks of his job, he knows he is where he needs to be.
Mawdsley, who is the new pediatrician at Flint Hills Community Health Center, works full time and started at the health center the middle of July. Mawdsley works full-time, unlike the previous pediatrician who only worked two days a week at FHCHC. Having practiced medicine for 29 years, Mawdsley has plenty of stories to tell. He practiced medicine as a medical missionary in Ethiopia and Cote d’Ivoire Africa for four years starting in the late 1990s. Mawdsley noted several differences in the medical community including the remoteness of the areas he served.
“They had different diseases,” he said. He added that such diseases as malaria and AIDS were common in some areas. “About 2,000 to 3,000 people die from malaria (each year) and a majority of those are children.”
He said births are different in Africa too.
“The women in the tribes have a difficult time birthing babies,” he said. “I saw a lot of women die in childbirth.”
Mawdsley said he enjoyed his time in Africa.
“I just think I was doing what I was called to be doing,” he said. “It was a good feeling.”
After coming back from Africa, Mawdsley worked a couple of places including World Impact in Wichita at the Good Samaritan Mobile Clinic. He ended up in Emporia as a way of continuing his mission.
“I helped establish a free mobile clinic,” he said.
Originally from Wichita, Mawdsley saw Emporia as an opportunity to serve the underserved, he said. He also had Emporia ties because his parents and his brother graduated from Emporia State University.
“I feel like I’m doing something I’m supposed to be doing,” he said. “It’s a real friendly atmosphere.”
Mawdsley said that FHCHC is in good financial condition, something that is rare in the clinic setting, he said. He also enjoys the fact that FHCHC is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). A FQHC is a federally cost-based program for Medicaid and Medicare.
Mawdsley also said he likes the fact that the resources he needs to do his job are right outside his office.
“The immunization people are right here,” he said, motioning toward the outside of his office. “The WIC people are right down the hall. For me practicing pediatrics, it’s really nice. I’ve never had a social worker easily accessible. I can only do so much.”
For now, Mawdsley commutes back and forth to Wichita each weekend. His wife, Brenda, still works in Wichita and will be joining him in Emporia at the end of the fall semester.
The Facts
Name: Michael Mawdsley
Who: Pediatrician at Flint Hills Community Health Center
Hometown: Wichita
Education: Bachelor’s in science at Kansas State University, 1971; MD, University of Kansas School of Medicine, 1974
Family: Wife, Brenda of 23 years; two sons; one granddaughter
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