A new physician at Watonga’s Mercy Clinic Primary Care facility says his Christian faith and passion for rural communities led him here and guide him every day.
Dr. Garry T. Bull specializes in family medicine and said as a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, he can offer holistic and hands-on treatments that not all doctors provide.
“The nice thing about it is, if you come in and you’ve thrown your back out, for instance, I can actually have you walking out relatively normal – maybe not pain-free – but relatively normal when you’re leaving,” Bull told the Watonga Republican. “I can treat a full range of musculoskeletal complaints using my hands – kind of like a chiropractor, but just keep in mind, we (osteopaths) invented it.”
Bull was raised in Tucumcari, New Mexico, and is a veteran of both the Navy and the Army, he said. Bull spent five years stationed at Tinker Air Force Base and served for 22 years overall, he said, retiring from the Army National Guard in 2018. “In the midst of all that, I went to college and medical school,” he said.
Bull performed his residency in Enid, which he completed in 2016. He is a graduate of Southwestern Oklahoma State University and the Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine.
“My thing is, I’m a strong advocate of rural health,” Bull explained. “I’ve been in rural health my entire career.”
Rural health care providers are struggling to survive, Bull said, which only adds to his determination to stay in rural Oklahoma. “I refuse to leave western Oklahoma. People out here need care, and this is my home.”
Bull started in Watonga on April 5 and said he would like to become a “permanent fixture” in the community.
“I don’t like moving around,” he said. “I believe that primary care providers need to be set.”
As a religious organization, Bull said Mercy is a great fit for him and his beliefs. “I’m a Christian physician,” Bull said. “I believe that in order to treat people, you have to think about their mind, their spirit and their body.”
Bull said he sometimes prays with patients and encourages them to “adopt the church as a source of social support.”
In western Oklahoma, Bull said he sees a lot of high blood pressure and heart problems – many of which are, unfortunately, quite advanced because some patients don’t see the doctor regularly. That’s why he encourages Blaine County residents to visit their primary care physician at least once a year and emphasizes preventative care, like colonoscopies and mammograms.
Bull also cautioned Oklahomans to continue taking precautions against COVID-19 as variants abound and some other states and countries are experiencing an uptick in cases. Bull lost a nurse – still young and in her 40s – to the coronavirus at his last clinic, and doesn’t want to see that happen to anyone else.
Mercy Clinic Primary Care is located at 203 N. Weigle in Watonga. More information is available at mercy.net/practice/mercy-clinic-primary-care-watonga.