Patients at Louisburg Family Care are likely to see a new face when they step through the sliding glass doors.

Loretta Heinen, a physician’s assistant, joined the staff in January.

Originally from Everest, Kan., a town with a population of 260 people, Heinen said she knew she wanted to end up in a small town like the one she grew up in.

She attended Kansas State University for her bachelor’s degree and then went on to acquire her master’s at the University of Colorado in Denver.

When Heinen started out, she specialized in allergy and asthma medicine, but she wanted to get back to her small-town roots and have more options in terms of medicine.

So she become a physician’s assistant, which is a licensed health care professional who is able to do many of the same things physicians themselves do under their supervision.

“We’re able to get lab results, histories, physicals, prescribe medication in all 50 states and are licensed by the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts,” which license physicians, too.

During graduate school, she worked in a pediatric program for clinicals and said the additional exposure gave her a lot of extra benefits.

But she’s thankful to be back in Kansas.

“I enjoy the variety of family medicine, and the family-feel of a small town,” she said.

“I like learning new things and change. Being able to see new and different things is what makes it fun to come to work ... I get to know my patients, their stories, their families, and I think that helps me provide more complete care,” she said.

Louisburg Family Care, 102 E. Crestview Dr., has two full-time physician’s assistants, including Heinen, working under Dr. Eric Dyck. Heinen is currently accepting new patients and appointments with her can be made by calling 837-4299.