Jaimie Fager ‘14 knew she wanted to practice medicine as early as junior high. Soon she’ll be living out what she believes is her calling through her own medical practice.
Integrity Medicine is set to open early 2022 in Andover, Kansas, as soon as January.
Fager and Dr. Robert Roeser will be working as partners in the practice. She met Roeser while consulting colleagues about opening a practice.
When she met him, everything clicked; goals and values aligned, and that morphed into partnering together.
“We sat down and looked at what this partnership would look like,” explained Fager. “He’s been in practice for 30 years and has set up his own clinic before and has done primary care. He’s become a mentor. Now we are working together and in the final phase of picking a location and developing a construction plan.”
Newman roots
Fager’s undergraduate education at Newman University taught her a lot about herself and helped solidify her decision to work in medicine. After applying to Newman because of its reputation and positive, personal feedback from others who attended, Fager was offered a St. John Henry Newman Scholarship — the highest of scholarships offered at the university with 100% paid tuition.
She quickly accepted and started her education journey into medicine. The small, family-like atmosphere at Newman was a bonus for Fager. She spent her high school years at a private, Christian school, Sunrise Christian Academy, so Newman was a perfect fit, she said.
Her biggest influence at Newman wasn’t her science classes, although they played a large part in continuing her path. The Honors Program is what Fager remembers the most from her time at Newman.
“What I learned about myself at Newman while going through the Honors Program was that I am an independent person and I question everything that a person does. I hope that trait helps me be a better doctor and a better person.”
Another experience that influenced Fager’s decision to practice medicine was a 2013 trip she took with doctors to Zimbabwe. Being immersed in third-world medicine made her realize the opportunities she had and created a passion for incorporating sustainability into her own practice.
“The hardest part of medicine is developing relationships but this is where I believe I can thrive. My passion for understanding people and building connections will help me build those relationships and serve the community.”
Medical school and residency training
Fager completed her residency training at the University of Kansas School of Medicine and from there, started a residency at the Wichita Family Medicine Residency Program at Wesley Medical Center.
“Completing residency there was great,” said Fager. “Wichita is a pretty unique place for family medicine. It has a respected and higher reputation.”
She added that she picked family medicine as a specialty with a goal of creating small-town, rural medicine patient connections. Family medicine is a place where she can continually learn and be innovative, she said.
“If I feel like something is broken, I want to be a part of the reinvention.”
Integrity Medicine will be a direct primary care practice, which means patients will pay a monthly subscription providing them unlimited access to a physician with no extra billing. She said it’s about rethinking the financial and patient relationship while removing the third party.
If I feel like something is broken, I want to be a part of the reinvention.”
Jaimie Fager
They will offer lab work in-house but X-rays and some other procedures will have to be done at another medical office.
“We want to be the physicians that someone can come to right away — some people have to wait months for preventative care — all at an affordable price point. Our goal will be to provide fantastic, top-notch patient care without the hindrance of working through insurance. Taking care of our patients will be top priority.”
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