Brantley native Dr. Clint Kilcrease joined Dr. Charles Tompkins in serving Crenshaw County residents at Family Practice Associates. The Brantley native is moving back to Brantley with his family and said he is excited to offer medical care in his own hometown community.

“After high school I worked as an [emergency room} tech and wanted to go to medical school,” Kilcrease said. “I wanted to come back here and practice medicine here. There’s just something special about this county. It’s different when your patients are people you actually know. My patients are the people I go to church with. They are my kids’ teachers at school and that’s just extra special.”

Kilcrease is a Brantley School graduate who earned his undergraduate degree in biology from Troy University. He attended medical school at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB) and is completing his residency in family practice medicine in the Montgomery Family Medicine Residency Program at Baptist Medical Center South in Montgomery.

Tompkins has practiced medicine in Crenshaw County since 1988. The veteran doctor, who also earned his medical degree at UAB, said he is excited to welcome Kilcrease, a neighbor and friend, to the practice.

“Clint is a fine person,” Tompkins said. “He is someone I’ve known my whole life. HIs family are literally our next-door neighbors and our backyards run into each other. It’s kind of crazy when you think about it.

“Clint is an outstanding person and comes from a fine family, good Christian folks. He is well trained and so we are excited about him coming in and what he will add to the practice.”

Kilcrease is specially trained in wound care and brings an aspect of care Tompkins said the practice hasn’t enjoyed before.

“We’ll have more expertise in handling difficult wounds,” Tompkins said. “I’m excited and curious to see how he’s going to manage some of the things that we’ve been doing [with wound care.]”

The practice manages care for all ages – from pediatrics to geriatrics and everything in between. Kilcrease said he looks forward to bringing new aspects of care and also to learning from seasoned professionals, like Tompkins.

“There are a lot of people in Luverne that I’d like to learn from, including Dr. Tompkins,” Kilcrease said. “That was part of the reason I wanted to work with him, to be able to continue that lifelong education process and to learn all I can.”

Tompkins expects Kilcrease to transition easily in the Crenshaw Community Hospital where he worked as a teenager. The doctor’s skill and presence will allow the practice to expand services, offering extended hours, accepting new patients, and adding time for same-day appointments for urgent care needs.

“We’re going to be able to offer some extended hours and care we just didn’t have the manpower to do before,” Tompkins said. “With Clint here, we can offer hours to help folks that have urgent needs and people who are at work or in school, so they don’t have to miss time to see us.”

For more information, call Family Practice Associates at (334) 335-3383.