Pryor Native Becomes Town's First Orthopedist

By Rick Wells, The News On 6

PRYOR, OK -- Young people often leave their small-town homes to find a career in the big city.

But one small-town boy left home, became a big-city doctor, but came back to Mayes County -- because it's home.

Jason Joice is Pryor's first orthopedist, a bone and joint doctor. He came back home last summer and is getting busy.

One of Joice's patients is David Greer, who had shoulder surgery in November. He couldn't play golf anymore because his shoulder had gotten so bad. He didn't want to drive back and forth to Tulsa to get it taken care of, and he didn't have to.

"He (Joice) did it here," Greer said. "I got to go home that night."

Usually it's hard to get a new practice going, particularly a new specialty, so Integris put a TV commercial together running it on the local cable channels.

There are no shortages of patients.

"I've talked to some of my friend in orthopedics," Joice said. "No one's gotten as busy as fast as I have."

A specialist could probably make a lot of money somewhere else. He had been working in St. Louis, but he said it's not all about that.

"An Oklahoma boy ... just liked living here," Joice said.

He grew up in the area and went to school in Locust Grove. Some of his patients knew him or knew his family.

"There was a need here," Joice said. "The hospital needed somebody."

And he needed to be back home.