Source: Tulsa World, Okla.文件倉Dec. 26--Thomas Boxley III is not a doctor, nor does he pretend to be.He won't check your blood pressure, take your temperature or tell you to turn your head and cough.Yet for many people, Boxley is their first contact with the University of Oklahoma's Wayman Tisdale Specialty Health Clinic.Boxley holds the double-barreled title of facilities manager and community liaison.As the former, he is responsible for keeping the $20 million facility at North Hartford Avenue and 36th Street North as bright and shiny as the day it opened.As the latter, he is responsible for introducing the clinic and healthier living to the community."That might be a meeting of the North Star Neighborhood Association, reaching out to breast cancer survivors or various support groups," Boxley said.Historically, the area around the Tisdale Clinic has been underserved in terms of medical care and particularly speciality medicine.Through the OU-Tulsa College of Medicine, the clinic offers dermatology, adult psychiatry, nephrology, pediatric gastroenterology, gynecology, endocrinology and preventive cardiology.There is also, Boxley said, an effort to simply make people more aware of healthy living.Beyond that is a desire to transform a neighborhood and community that has long been stagnant at best."We would like to be the catalyst for development of the 36th Street corridor," Boxley said.The recently passed $917 million capital improvement package included $5 million for the corridor's small area plan, approved in October by the Tulsa 存倉etropolitan Area Planning Commission."We look at ourselves as an anchor institution," said Boxley, a member of the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce board. "It was amazing. As the (clinic) building began to proceed, as it began to take form, some of the owners of the surrounding properties began to upgrade their facilities, too."The No. 1 priority for area residents, Boxley said, is easier access to a grocery store -- not a convenience store or general merchandise store but an actual grocery store."We have a lot of older people here," he said. "I was approached by seven or eight elders who wanted to know, 'How can we get a grocery store?' "A Tulsa native and graduate of Booker T. Washington High School, Boxley said he hopes he can be a facilitator in building the 36th Street corridor."We're involved in business development and involving young people in business," he said. "We want them to be able to support themselves, to have something to come back to after college."My role in all of this is to be a catalyst, bring people together at the right time," he said. "Timing is everything."Randy Krehbiel 918-581-8365randy.krehbiel@tulsaworld.comRead about others in our 10 to watch series.tulsaworld.com/2014Read our stories looking back on 2013.tulsaworld.com/2013Editor's note: Beginning Dec. 26 and running each day, the Tulsa World will profile 10 people you should know in the upcoming year.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.) Visit Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.) at .tulsaworld.com Distributed by MCT Information Services儲存
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