Jording retires after over three decades in medicine
KateLynn Slaamot
NLJ Correspondent
A lot changes in the medical field over 30 years. Private practices give way to large corporations, medical technology advances at a rapid rate, and different areas of medicine become more specialized. Mike Jording, a physician who has witnessed all these changes, retired from Monument Health Clinic in Newcastle at the beginning of this year. He had worked there since March of 1989.
Jording said that his interest in medicine first blossomed in high school. He attended two years of high school in Wheatland and then attended Newcastle High School, graduating in 1972. Local Newcastle physicians such as Dr. Willis Franz and others, served as his “role models” as he explored his interest. Jording said that their integrity and willingness to help others appealed to him.
Skilled in mathematics, Jording received a scholarship to the University of Wyoming, where he studied chemical engineering for his undergraduate degree. After four years, he was accepted to the medical school at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.
Jording excelled in the math and medical statistics side of medical school, but he told the News Letter Journal that medical school is no easy task.
“Medical school is challenging in itself,” Jording said. “It was surprising.” He added that the sheer amount of time involved in medical school was overwhelming at times. Even just the copious amount of information was difficult.
By the second and third years, Jording said, he found things much improved as he learned more and more. Being further along in medical school also meant more responsibilities.
“You assume so much more responsibility for patient care,” Jording said.
In 1980, Jording went to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to take part in the family practice residency program. During his three years there, he met and married his wife, Peggy.
In 1983, the couple headed to Torrington where Jording joined a private practice with three experienced doctors.
“I continued to learn from them,” Jording said. He stayed there until 1989, when he relocated to Newcastle and joined Drs. Chuck Franklin and Lanny Reimer at Cedar Hills Family Clinic, privately owned at the time. Then, in 2013, they sold the business to Regional Health, now Monument Health, where the doctors remained
in employment.
“All three of us got along very well,” Franklin said. “He (Jording) was always willing to do his share and help out.” Franklin added that Jording often went home for supper and came back to complete paperwork. Franklin also appreciated Jording’s cheerful attitude.
“He was very caring and thoughtful toward his patients and their problems,”
Reimer said.
The time commitment was one of the difficult aspects of being a doctor, and Peggy said that it is definitely challenging to be married to a physician because they are very tied to their job.
“You have to be independent enough to fill your time when they’re working,” Peggy said. Ultimately, though, she said that she is proud of her husband and what he’s accomplished.
“I’m proud of the work that he does,” Peggy said.
And Jording has much to speak of in the way of accomplishments. From 1983 to 1989, Jording was an adviser to Goshen County Family Planning in Torrington, and he filled a similar position in Newcastle for over two decades. Jording served Weston County as its public health officer from 2006 to 2021.
“He had a keen interest in medical education as well,” Reimer said.
Starting in 1992, Jording traveled to Casper once a month to help educate and train residents at the Casper Family Practice Residency.
“I have maintained ties to the education side of medicine and impacted students from the high school level to family practice residency. Many of those students have since returned to practice in Wyoming,” Jording said.
Jording has also been involved in medicine on a statewide scale. He was on the Wyoming Medical Society board of trustees for 10 years, serving as president for two years. Jording said that while it was a prolific time commitment, it was also very “rewarding.”
“I was able to guide the society in medical and political decisions that impacted most Wyoming physicians,” Jording said. “At that time, I was fortunate to have participated in
the establishment of the Wyoming Medical Society Centennial Scholarship Fund, which is an endowment that recognizes outstanding Wyoming medical students.”
Jording even got to connect with fellow Wyoming doctor William Close, who Jording said was involved in efforts to provide quality health care in the Congo and to help with controlling the Ebola epidemic.
Jording was also president of the Wyoming Board of Medicine for three years and a member since 2013.
Along with Reimer, Jording also received an outstanding alumni award from the University of Wyoming for all his hard work and accomp–lishments.
In all of these accomplishments, Jording said, his highest motivation is to take care of each and every one of his patients well. It’s a privilege to be in a place to help people with their health care needs and educate them on those things, he said.
“It’s our responsibility as physicians to direct patients to the best care they can get,” Jording said. “It’s a bundle of emotions and memories when you do take care of patients.”
And with all the changes and specializations in the medical field, Jording said, opportunities for better and more comprehensive care have become more and more inexhaustible.
Now entering this new chapter in life, the Jordings hope to see their two children and grandkids more. They also hope to travel more — camping and vacationing — and Jording hopes to have more time for hobbies. Although he will still miss his work, Jording said, he’s grateful for his time and experience as a physician over the years.
“Last of all, I would say that the most endearing years of life as a doctor were spent beside Dr. Lanny Reimer and Dr. Chuck Franklin, both of whom have committed 40-plus years each to the medical care of residents of Weston County. Working with them certainly made me a better physician and person, without a doubt,” Jording said.