Dr. Larry Braden
Ouachita Valley Family Clinic
Camden
In an era of hyper-specialization, Dr. Lawrence Braden of the Ouachita Valley Family Clinic in Camden is a welcome throwback, leaving his mark on generations of a community as he serves a wide range of needs.
“What I find most rewarding about my profession is the depth and length of relationships developed with those that I serve, and, my place in the wider community as a health care advocate,” said Braden, who practices in the same small town where he grew up.
“My only exposure to a doctor as a child was with my family physician,” he said. “Later, I was exposed to various specialties and was influenced by their physician role models.”
Braden’s decision to come home came after he had graduated from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and a detour into nuclear medicine technology.
“Watching the physicians with whom I worked at UAMS, I enjoyed the physician patient interaction they had and the physician’s role as decision maker,” he said.
Leaving the lab for good proved energizing for him and fortuitous for Camden which, like a lot of small towns, struggled to attract and retain medical practitioners. From the start, Braden knew the risk he was taking in returning to a Main Street practice, and the challenges have eased little with the passing of time.
“Finding ways to provide the services found in larger communities with the limited resources smaller communities typically have is most challenging,” Braden said. “And now, as I find myself trying to improving our county health rankings, it is challenging shoring up the community and finding ways to overcome the social and economic stresses of so many that surround me.”
If a community doctor is supposed to be a little bit of all things to all people, Braden wears that responsibility like a freshly-pressed lab coat. His titles include staff physician at the Ouachita Valley Family Clinic, medical director at Ouachita County Medical Center Hospice and medical director and volunteer of Christian Health Center, serving the medically uninsured.
In addition, he’s the Ouachita County Health Officer and is actively building a palliative care team for the region.
He was part of a steering committee for — and is now a member of — the Hope Health Commission, a new entity for the city and county tasked with pursuing community interventions for improved public health. As if that weren’t enough, he also serves as president of the Arkansas Board of Health.
Highlights:
» Native of Camden; attended University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
» Advocate for robust health care in his hometown
» Staff physician at the Ouachita Valley Family Clinic, medical director at Ouachita County Medical Center Hospice and medical director and volunteer of Christian Health Center, serving the medically uninsured.
» Ouachita County Health Officer, supporting the work of the State Health Department in its public health activities, and is actively building a palliative care team for the region.
» Charter member of Hope Health Commission; current president of the Arkansas Board of Health
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