Picnic connections: Newest Mercy provider comes home

When you see Amber Johnson and her husband, Scotty, at the picnic this weekend, be sure to tell her congratulations on her new job. She’s coming home to serve as a physician assistant at Mercy Clinic Family Medicine – El Dorado Springs.
“This is such great timing for us,” Johnson shared. “It seems like a lot of great things center around the annual picnic. It’s where Scotty and I really got to know each other and started dating.”
Now, they’re moving home to raise their two kids in their hometown. Cru is 3 years old and Campbell is 1.
“We’ve been living in Republic, and it’s great, but we really missed being members of a smaller community,” Johnson said. “We want our kids to grow up in the country.”
For the past five years, Johnson has been working in the emergency room at Mercy Hospital Aurora. “I’ve seen a lot,” she said. “I’ve cared for all kinds of different illnesses and injuries and ages from newborn to 105. In some of those cases, I’ve seen what can happen if health conditions aren’t addressed at an early stage – so I’ll be focused on helping my patients live healthy lives.”
Johnson said really knowing her patients will enable her to serve them better. “I want to look at the entire person and take into account everything from their job to their lifestyle to stressors. It’s about more than just prescribing a medication. It’s about considering what could be causing health issues in the first place.
Johnson earned her bachelor’s in molecular biology and her master’s in physician assistant studies from Missouri State University.
“I actually used to work as a medical assistant at the Mercy clinic in El Dorado Springs years ago,” she said. “This is truly a homecoming.”
She will begin her new role on Aug. 7. You can establish care with her now by calling Mercy Clinic Family Medicine – El Dorado Springs at 417-876-5851.
Mercy Springfield Communities is comprised of Mercy Hospital Springfield, an 866-bed referral center; an orthopedic hospital; a rehab hospital; a children’s hospital; four regional hospitals in Lebanon, Aurora, Cassville, and Mountain View, Missouri; and Mercy Clinic, a physician clinic with nearly 700 doctors and locations throughout the region. It is part of Mercy, one of the 25 largest U.S. health systems, which serves millions annually with nationally recognized quality care and one of the nation’s largest Accountable Care Organizations. Mercy is a highly integrated, multi-state health care system including more than 40 acute care, managed and specialty (heart, children’s, orthopedic and rehab) hospitals, convenient and urgent care locations, imaging centers and pharmacies. Mercy has 900 physician practices and outpatient facilities, 3,400 Mercy Clinic physicians and advanced practitioners, and more than 40,000 co-workers serving patients and families across Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Mercy also has clinics, outpatient services and outreach ministries in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.