MHS Release
Memorial Health System (MHS) is happy to announce that Dr. Maci Hicks has finally arrived after a six-year wait! “It has been an enjoyable experience to follow Maci through her schooling and visit with her through the years”, said Harold Courtois, MHS CEO. “She has been able to build some great relationships with staff before her arrival, which is pretty great; she’ll feel right at home on day one!”
Dr. Hicks studied medicine at the University of Kansas and continued to the Smoky Hill Family Medicine Residency Program in Salina; graduating in 2024.
After her first year of med school, she entered a program called S.T.O.R.M (Summer Training Option in Rural Medicine) where she was placed in Abilene and spent the summer of 2018 working alongside Dr. Brown while gaining some clinical experience. “Dr. Brown got me in the action; delivering babies and working in the ER. I had an interest in pediatrics and OB, and being able to come here as a medical student to experience a wide variety of areas that rural medicine offers, really solidified that for me,” she stated. “Dr. Brown welcomed me with open arms, and so did everyone else in the clinic. I felt like I was part of this huge family,” explained Hicks. “That’s about the time I fell in love with family medicine. I fell in love with this community too!”
It was near the end of the summer rotation that Courtois sat down with her to talk about her future. He told her that recruiting didn’t usually happen so early, but after having her at MHS for the summer, everyone thought she was a great fit, and if she wanted to commit to practicing medicine at MHS once she graduated, that there was an opportunity to get some schooling paid. This was a big win for Hicks since she was not from Kansas and did not qualify for the Kansas Medical Student Loan Program.
Dr. Hicks has always wanted to be a doctor. “My parents told me from the age of three that I told them I wanted to be a doctor, and it is something that I just stuck with.” Having a wonderful childhood pediatrician probably helped to build this dream for her. “When I had well-checks when I was a kid, my pediatrician really got me involved in the appointment, and I was always excited to go see her,” she said.
Although she followed a path taking her away from the family farm in Plymouth, Nebraska where she grew up, she found another one to settle into when she met her husband, Michael Poland, who works the family farm close to Woodbine, Ks with his father, uncle, and cousin. At the beginning of this summer, Maci and Michael welcomed their son, Myer to the world, so Dr. Hicks has enjoyed being a new mom for the last few months before she puts on her white coat and begins to share her time with all of her patients. With a new husband, new baby, and new career it might be a while before Dr. Hicks finds time to go to a country music concert, but her other hobbies include being outdoors and spending time with family, which are more obtainable in her foreseeable future and will certainly help her achieve a great work-life balance!
When asked what superpower she would choose if she could have one, Dr. Hicks pondered for a moment and said, “It would be nice to never have to sleep.” If this doesn’t say what a go-getter she is, then what does? If you would like to become a patient of Dr. Hicks, please call Heartland Health Care Clinic (HHCC) at 785-263-4131 for more information or visit: https://mhsks.org/heartland_clinic/
For your convenience, new patient packets are on the HHCC website page: https://mhsks.org/heartland_clinic/.
