Longtime Clovis physician PRMC's new medical director

CLOVIS — Longtime Clovis physician Dr. Albert Kwan has been selected as Plains Regional Medical Center’s new medical director. Kwan, who will assume the position in mid-July has been president of the PRMC medical staff since 2010.

He will replace Dr. Donna Thibodeau, who is leaving the position, but plans to stay at PRMC in home health, hospice and infusion service roles.

Kwan is the president of the American Society of General Surgeons, a past president of the New Mexico Medical Society, and the EMS medical director for the city of Clovis and Curry County since 1997. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1988-1993 and earned his medical degree from the University of New Mexico.

Kwan, in a conference call Monday, said his desire to work in medicine came during his youth.

“It started when I was 10 years old,” he said. “My mom required a very urgent surgery. She was in the hospital for two weeks. I needed to take care of my sister, who was 7.

“I thank God the surgeons were skilled and returned my mom to us. I made a commitment that if one day I can reciprocate that care to save somebody’s life, somebody’s mother, somebody’s father, somebody’s son, somebody’s daughter, I would do that.”

Kwan will continue to perform general surgeries while he serves as medical director.

“They’re the first line of communication for local physicians and mid-level providers who have questions,” PRMC Administrator Drew Dostal said of the position. “They serve as a liaison between the higher-ups at a corporate level or the medical group as a whole. They also serve in mentorship roles. They’re a good point of communication for local boards. So they really wear a lot of different hats.”

Kwan said he had plenty of interaction with Thibodeau, and feels he can take knowledge he gained from her along with his own experience to the position.

“Short-term, we need to look at recruitment and retention of our physicians,” Kwan said. “Long term, we need to enhance the capabilities and capacity of our regional medical center. It will take a long commitment to achieve that goal.”