Welcoming New Family Physicians to the Hospital

The Excelsior Springs Hospital is just at the beginning of an expansion in specialists and health professionals that will bring better, more inclusive care to the community. Fortunate for the hospital is that the Primary Care Clinic has hired not one, but two D.O.’s that are a husband and wife team, Dr. Nolan Gartin and Dr. Heather Wilson.

“We have training in mind, body, and spirit,” Dr. Wilson explained. “We love the history of Excelsior Springs and that there are healing springs here.”

Dr. Gartin and Dr. Wilson has a specialty in osteopathic medicine, which is a more holistic approach to care. Referred to as “D.O.”s, these physicians are able to prescribe medication and perform surgery, the same as medical doctors, but their approach isn’t necessarily just a prescription. Holistic medicine encompasses more than just a treatment of health problems themselves, their focus is to find the root problem that a person is having health complications from and treat that.

“We want to get you off of the pills. That’s our goal,” said Dr. Gartin. “We enjoy spending time
getting to know our patients and learn more about their lives. By getting to know them we can better
assess what their needs are as a whole person. We do a lot of educating and explaining to our patients options for them to consider and why those suggestions are being made. We believe in offering options for an individual and then letting them make their own decision.”

Previously having a practice in Nebraska, one of the things they enjoyed most was treating multi-generational families. Often families have similar health concerns, so keeping all those concerns in mind,
they can offer better treatment for all of the family members.


Originally from the area, the couple have 43 acres of land, are bowhunters, and also love fishing for bass. They recognize that they’re coming into the community at a time of growth and are excited for the relationships that they will make here.