Wednesday, May 31, 2023 - Dr. Chris Orendorff, MD, and his staff at Premier Primary Care were awarded May’s member of the Month at the monthly Sallisaw Chamber of Commerce meeting.
Dr. Orendorff is a Sallisaw native and a 2009 graduate of the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. He began his medical practice in 2012 in Sallisaw as an employee of Sequoyah Memorial Hospital at the Redwood Clinic. Dr. Orendorff joined the Sallisaw Chamber of Commerce at that time and again after opening his private practice in 2014.
Premier Primary Care is a family practice serving patients of all ages for both wellness and acute care visits. Premier Primary Care is owned and operated by Dr. Orendorff, who employs 15 full-time staff, including four nurse practitioners, and serves thousands of patients across the county and region.
Dr. Orendorff stated, "Our goal is to provide the community with accessible, quality health care in a friendly, comfortable environment."
The Sallisaw Now Coalition (SNC) was the chamber's keynote speaker for the month of May.
The City of Sallisaw became the SNC’s fiscal agent in 2015, operating on only one grant, a Drug Free Communities grant (DFC), which totaled $125,000 per year in funds.
The coalition has grown substantially over the past eight years with the addition of four new grants. All grants combined equal 1.2 million dollars of funding per year that is used for bullying and drug-free prevention programming in Sequoyah County.
The coalition staff offers a long list of resources to the community. A few of these include free medication lock boxes, annual alcohol compliance checks, prevention services to schools county-wide, and the implementation of three total prescription drug drop boxes in the county.
In addition, the coalition staff hosts free Narcan trainings and supplies the trained public with Narcan at no cost. In just the past year, the team has given out close to 800 boxes of the lifesaving drug.
During the announcement portion of the meeting, dates for the 2023 Lions Club Rodeo were reported for August 3-5 at the Sallisaw Rodeo grounds.
Sallisaw Chamber of Commerce Director Marty Green provided a reminder that Mainstreet Market begins June 1 from 4-8 p.m. Mainstreet Market takes place the first Thursday of every month from June to September from Cherokee Ave. to Choctaw St. in downtown Sallisaw.
Green also provided details regarding state ball tournaments. "The youth league has secured two OK Kids regional baseball tournaments for 10U and 12U. Also secured is one state tournament that will take place in July," Green stated.
Lindsie Dyer, Staff Writer
For more news stories stay tuned to The MIX 105.1 or visit www.kxmx.com
