Monforts look ahead in Red Barn

At a time when many folks are thinking about easing into retirement, Dr. Darrell Monfort expanded his Red Barn veterinary clinic just northwest of Iola to accommodate a staff of eight, including two other veterinarians.
At age 60, Monfort’s rationale is that when “you’re part of a community, I think you need to make an investment or there won’t be a community down the road.”
His and wife Kathy’s investment was to build a new 4,400-square-foot clinic to serve owners of small animals, mainly dogs and cats, and an adjoining structure of the same size where horses and cows may be quartered while being treated.
He and his crew are working from the new quarters while Andy Beatty, and his crew, finish up construction.
In addition to Monfort, Drs. Belinda Garten and Leann Flowers work from the clinic, meaning it will have a full-time vet’s coverage five days a week 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday’s 8 a.m. to noon. Also, Monfort, as has been the case for years, will respond to emergencies during off-hours.
The two other docs find three-days-a-week shifts compatible. Garten lives south of Erie and her husband, Cody, is a U.S. Department of Agriculture veterinarian; Flowers lives in Chanute, where her husband, Lon, is a banker.
Other staff members are Diane LaGalle, office manager; Amanda Taylor, receptionist; Andi DePriest, technician; and Veronica Complido, who has worked as a technician for the Monforts 3½ years and is attending school in Independence to become a veterinary technician.
“I’m the comptroller,” said Kathy; and computer tech, as well as girl Friday and whatever else needs done, said Monfort.
Monfort said with the second two vets on board, he intended to spend more of his time with large animals, including weekly journeys to help with livestock sales in Eureka.

MONFORT EARNED a degree in veterinary medicine at Kansas State University and worked in North Dakota six years before deciding to return to the farm in 1982, when his parents, Roy and Betty Monfort, needed a hand. It also was a good place to raise their four children, Monfort said.
He continued to farm after his father died in ’85, and his mother the following year.
By 1990 the Monforts had a practice from their home and then opened a full-time clinic next door in 1995.
With growth of the practice the building became so crowded, “We were walking on top of each other,” Monfort said.
A survey of the structure came back with the assessment that remodeling and even enlarging would cost about as much as building new, but without as much space or the public access the new clinic has next to what’s known as Horville Road.
Rather than build for the immediate future, the Monforts looked ahead. In addition to ample space for today’s medical chores, the building includes sleeping quarters for interns, coming for a week or even a month.
“We had three students from K-State here for a week in August,” Monfort said.
“That’s important,” he added. “Students don’t get the hands-on training in school that they can get here,” working daily with animals brought to the clinic. “They need the opportunity to  get experience.”
Surgical aspects of he clinic have been enhanced, including laser instruments and other electronic devices that help with pain relief.
“We may be on the edge of civilization out in the country, but we’re also on the cutting edge of science and technology,” Monfort said.
Clients come from a wide area, including some who lived here previously and now return — from Kansas City, Wichita and even Denver — to have Monfort deal with medical needs of their pets.
As for being community oriented, he added that every effort was made to purchase materials and services in construction of the clinic locally.
“About 80 percent of what we needed for the upgrade came from within 30 to 35 miles,” he said.
The clinic is on the southeast corner Monfort’s homeplace at 1540 1300 St. The phone number is 365-3954.