TNP Member Since 2022 | Practice Owner: Ralls Family Medicine Ralls, Texas

Meet John Hodges, a West Texas FNP who opened Ralls Family Medicine on August 1,2022. This Crosby County native’s journey to opening a clinic had twists and turns, but everything seemed to fall into place at just the right time.

John graduated from Crosbyton High School in 1997, attended college at Texas Tech University, and began his post-bachelor’s employment as a teacher, educating high schoolers about his first passion – agriculture. Soon, feeling unfulfilled, he wanted more, continuously feeling called to healthcare, particularly caring for his community. It took John a little while to get there, somewhat due to the well-intentioned comments from others when he would share his dreams, such as “Wow, that’s a difficult field,” and “Are you sure you really want to do that?” John eventually ignored the nay-sayers and found himself on his journey to become a family nurse practitioner. He returned to school, graduating from Covenant School of Nursing in 2009, and he received a BSN from Lubbock Christian University and his master’s in nursing from West Texas A&M University.

Determined to Open His Own Clinic

Opening a clinic was not initially John’s plan, but after being an NP for a few years in the Lubbock area, it was only a matter of time. After graduating with his FNP in 2014, he worked for Crosbyton Rural Health Clinic for five years, where he also completed his clinic hours as a student. For another three and a half years, John saw patients in Lubbock, seeing 40+ patients daily. He quickly identified this was not his style for providing patient care. He got to the point where he was burned out, frustrated, and anxious.

Just about that time, John approached by Terry Hitt, the mayor of Ralls, who wanted John to open a clinic in Ralls to address the healthcare needs of Crosby County residents. Together, they found a downtown two-story building almost 100 years old that used to house an afterschool program. Back in the 80s, it was a women’s health clinic. John first visited the site when the thought of opening his clinic was just a dream, but he knew immediately that this dream could be a reality as soon as he stepped foot in the building. John discussed it with his wife, the development of the business plan began, and the rest is history. John feels the opportunity came at the right time for him, and being a spiritual person, he feels everything happens for a reason.

At Ralls Family Medicine, we treat our patients like family.

Ralls Family Medicine takes Medicare and Medicaid patients and offers concierge packaging for uninsured patients. The clinic employs two full-time nurses, one part-time nurse, and an office manager who does most of the billing. John and his team deliver much-needed care to the underserved community of Crosby County. He feels blessed to have such an amazing team of caring individuals who work so well together. John’s wife, who is particularly skilled in organization and bookkeeping, provides these essential duties for the clinic.

John also feels blessed to be giving back to his community. “No one ever goes back home,” referring to the small community of Crosby County. John has known many of his patients for 20-30 years. He finds that he tends to micromanage his patients’ care, and although he identifies that he may be overworking himself at times, he feels that it’s what his patients need.

Filling Essential Gaps

The county’s hospital is about eight miles away and has had difficulty maintaining providers for some time now. John and his staff have been working hard to fill the gaps in healthcare for the area and surrounding communities of about 5,000 residents. The clinic offers primary and acute care, but with the number of patients in the area, the clinic has had to turn people away, unfortunately. Ralls Family Medicine currently sees about 3,000 patients, highlighting more challenges for the future. John worries that if he and his staff cannot keep up with the care of the aging community, who cannot travel 30 more miles to Lubbock for care, plans for expanding the clinic’s capacity are in great need.

John acknowledges that running the clinic has its challenges, but the need for healthcare in the underserved rural community of Crosby County is undeniable. Having the clinic has been a great thing for his community. His clinic’s mantra – “Treat your patients how you know you want your family treated,” is his team’s focus. When seeing a child or elderly patient, he reminds his staff to imagine the patient as their child or parent.

Looking to the Future

John hopes to expand his Ralls Family Medicine to include additional exam rooms, an x-ray room, and office spaces for employees to work comfortably when not tending to patients. More immediately, however, the clinic is focused on replacing the roof and repairing the entrance awning of the building. Further down the road, John would also like to have specialists visit the clinic periodically.

John also has goals that benefit his patients’ care such as advocating for full practice authority, especially in promoting the needs in rural Texas. John would also like to get the clinic certified as a rural health clinic to open up potential funding opportunities that are outside the clinic’s reach at this time.