To help meet the growing need for primary care services, Beaufort Memorial Hospital has recruited another highly experienced physician assistant for its Lady’s Island Internal Medicine practice.

[caption id="attachment_17205" align="alignleft" width="150"]<a href="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Garner-John-labcoat.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-17205" alt="John Garner" src="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Garner-John-labcoat-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a> John Garner[/caption]

John Garner, who served 20 years as a PA in the Medical Services Corps of the United States Navy, began seeing patients June 16 at the 8,500-square-foot Lady’s Island medical office at 117 Sea Island Parkway.

He will be working with internists Drs. Philip Cusumano, Randy Dalbow and Robert Vyge, along with Eric Gearhart, another former Navy PA who came on board last fall.

A graduate of George Washington University with a master’s degree from the University of Nebraska, Garner began his career as a physician assistant in 1995 at the Naval Hospital in Okinawa. Four years later, he was transferred to the Marine Corp Recruit Depot on Parris Island where he supervised a staff of 10 hospital corpsman responsible for the medical care of more than 1,000 Marine recruits each month.

In 2003, he was transferred to Beaufort Naval Hospital. As a family practice staff physician assistant, he provided outpatient care to some 800 military personnel and their dependents, treating a multitude of medical conditions from diabetes and hypertension to orthopedic injuries and gynecological disorders.

Since his retirement from the Navy as a lieutenant in 2005, Garner has worked at Sea Island Medical Practice, an internal medicine clinic.

Prior to becoming a physician assistant, Garner was a hospital corpsman in the Navy for 20 years. From 1986 to 1992, he served as the lone medical provider for a crew of 130 on a fast-attack submarine.

Lady’s Internal Medicine, part of Beaufort Memorial Physicians Partners, provides adult medical care that includes diagnosis and treatment, case management, and coordination of care across the life spectrum. The practice currently offers same-day appointments and on-site laboratory services.

“These days all you have to do is turn on the television to hear that the availability of primary care in the U.S. is in short supply,” said Sam Derrick, MHA, CMPE, executive director of Beaufort Memorial Physician Partners, a multispecialty physician group that includes specialists in primary care, general and vascular surgery, orthopaedics, gastroenterology and women’s medicine. “Beaufort Memorial is pleased to have someone with John Garner’s level of experience and commitment to help us provide easy access to quality health care in the Beaufort area.”

To schedule an appointment with Garner, call Lady’s Island Internal Medicine at 843-522-7240.
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