Glasgow Clinic Welcomes Two New Providers

Over the past month Tyson Cochran, MD, and Haylee Thompson, FNP, have been seeing patients at the Glasgow Clinic as the facility's two newest providers. They have seen patients with a wide variety of health ailments and enjoy serving not only the community but also being a part of rural healthcare.

Thompson is a native of Glasgow, graduating from Glasgow High School in 2007 and currently resides in the town she grew up in with her husband, Rocky, and their four children. After graduating high school she attended Montana State University-Bozeman, graduating with her nursing degree in 2011. She did her rural health rotation in Wolf Point, where they offered her a position after graduation. She worked as a floor nurse for three years and decided to start taking classes to become a nurse practitioner through the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Ala. "It was a primarily online-based program with in-person clinicals, so I spent some time in Alabama. It was actually a really fun place to go," reflected Thompson.

Prior to joining the Glasgow Clinic, Thompson worked in Wolf Point for the past 12 years, both as a nurse and family nurse practitioner, and decided now was the time to work closer to home. "I really enjoyed my time in Wolf Point. As my kids have gotten older, the commute has gotten harder. I feel the stress of being 50 miles away every day," explained Thompson for the change. Though the change in location was primarily for her family, she is excited to work in the area she grew up in. "I love family medicine because I like all age groups and I like seeing a mix of everything. I like being in primary care because I like to build those relationships with patients over time and help them hopefully meet their health care goals and work with them as kind of a team. I love seeing kids, watching them grow through well child visits. I just like all of it!," she explained.

When she is not helping the community with their medical needs, she spends her free time reading, doing puzzles, hanging out with her family and spending time on the lake. "Even though this is a small town and I have lived here for nearly my whole life, I meet so many new people on a daily basis! The funny part is everyone that I meet knows my husband!," laughs Thompson.

Though Cochran is originally from Shelton, Wash., he and his family have quickly adjusted to rural life. "The quirkiest thing about Glasgow is the sculptures outside of town on the west side," remarked Cochran, as he has noticed them while exploring and driving around the area.

He attended medical school at Saba University School of Medicine in the Bottom, Saba, Dutch Caribbean and completed his family practice residency in Canton, Ohio, prior to taking on the position at the Glasgow Clinic. He admits though he now enjoys being a medical doctor in family medicine, this wasn't always his end goal. "My mom was a nurse growing up and my parents always encouraged us to do something in medicine and nursing seemed like a lot less commitment as far as education wise. Everybody laughs when they find this out - but I didn't get accepted in nursing school so I applied to medical school," said Cochran. Though medical school wasn't his initial desire, it was meant to be. "I've always enjoyed taking care of people that were sick or injured or whatever. I always enjoyed the procedural type of stuff. It has just all worked out for me."

After completing his residency in Ohio, Cochran and his family knew they wanted to move closer to the western part of the state, but he admits Glasgow was not high on the list of places to move to. "I was working with a recruiter who told me all of the places that have jobs and provided the job description [for this position]. I actually wasn't going to apply for this job but then she said 'the people are really nice to work with.' So I decided why not," reflected Cochran. "They were one of the first jobs to reach out to me and through each step of the process I always knew where my standing was. Then when I came here to visit people, it just felt right."

Throughout his time here in treating patients in family medicine and obstetrics, Cochran is most looking forward to continuing to grow as a doctor. He enjoys variety which is what drew him to family medicine in the first place. "I want to increase the number of things I do and I'm looking forward to getting opportunities in procedure," he stated.

Though he hasn't had a lot of free time and down time lately, he is looking forward to re-introducing hobbies into his life that he loves including hiking and camping. With his wife and three kids, he is excited to re-invent new hobbies with them due to this change of schedule providing more free time.

To schedule an appointment with Thompson or Cochran, call the Glasgow Clinic Primary Care at 406-228-3400.