Barton's Doctor of the Year for 2015: Henning Mehrens, M.D.

Barton Health used National Doctor's Day on March 30 to announce this year's Doctor of the Year, Henning Mehrens, M.D. . He won the honor in recognition of his work at the Barton Skilled Nursing Facility and for his other specialties of family practice and urgent care.

Barton Health staff and physicians gathered in the hospital’s Snowflake Lobby to recognize Mehrens who has been on staff there since 1976.

Although most people see a doctor in a patient office or hospital setting, Dr. Mehrens sees his patients where they live. He is the Medical Director of the Barton Skilled Nursing Facility where he is responsible for leadership and the overall care of short and long term residents.

“Dr. Mehrens is a community and patient advocate,” says Maureen Cooper, Skilled Nursing’s Resident Relations Coordinator. “He sits in on every patient’s care conference and works closely with the patient’s family to provide the best guidance and care for each individual patient.”

Skilled nursing residents reiterated similar sentiments about Dr. Mehrens. One resident described him as “one of the nicest doctors I’ve ever met.” One patient, in her mid-sixties, stated, “When I grow up, I want to be just like him.”

To recognize Barton Health’s physicians on Doctor's Day, Barton employees and physicians vote for the Doctor of the Year and a special recognition ceremony is held in the recipient’s honor. Dr. Mehrens has worked at Skilled Nursing since 2007, but Dr. Mehrens has practiced medicine at Barton Health since February 26, 1976. In 2012, he shared the Doctor of the Year honor with Dr. Peter DiGrande.