TAHLEQUAH — Dr. Matt Misner has one small daughter at home, but he considers each child who comes through the door at the NEOHealth Pediatric Clinic “one of my kids.”

Misner, and Dr. Gary Gaston, who specializes in neonatal care as well as pediatrics, recently began their practice at the clinic, 407 Daisy Drive, Suite A (in the strip center behind Walmart Supercenter). Misner is the first National Health Service Corps scholar to practice with NEOHealth, which also operates family practice and women’s clinics in Tahlequah, and clinics in Hulbert and Westville.

Misner’s eyes gleam when he shows photos of his daughter, Lydia Grace, 1. But he’s just as excited when showing photos of children he has treated so far at the clinic, or at other places – including a young Tulsa girl who recently succumbed to cancer, or one of him holding a small child while volunteering with a Jesuit group in the Marshall Islands.

“This is what it’s all about. It’s the perfect picture – that innocence, the look in their eye, being able to connect with a child and do something for them,” he said.

Misner and Gaston have begun to transform the clinic, at one time used for general practice, into a kid-friendly atmosphere. While waiting for their exams, children can play in a room featuring a large wood playhouse and other toys. Chairs in the waiting room are in primary colors, and a fish tank sits atop the receptionist’s desk. Posters attractive to children have replaced anatomical charts throughout the office.

The doctors have painted three of the exam rooms, and plan to paint the other three, in bright colors and given each room a theme. “Spongebob Squarepants,” “Toy Story,” “Nemo,” “Tinkerbell,” and dinosaurs may greet young patients. A large, stuffed elephant, with a “check out here” sign on its trunk, is the last stop parents and young patients make.

NEOHealth has wanted to obtain a National Health Service Corps scholar for some time, said CEO Dr. Sharon Zang. She’s excited about adding Misner and Gaston to her staff, as well as other physicians and medical professionals.

The National Health Service Corps targets underserved areas of the country, providing them with physicians, nurse practitioners, certified nurse-midwives, physician assistants, dentists, dental hygienists and mental health providers. In return for their service, scholars receive up to $50,000 toward repayment of their student loans, and the potential for additional years of support.

Since 1972, more than 30,000 clinicians have served in the Corps, bringing quality health care to places and people that often have been without access to even basic services. Nearly 30 percent stay in the area after fulfilling that commitment, and more than half make a career of caring for underserved people.

Last year, about 3,500 NHSC providers provided care for four million people.

Affiliating with the NHSC was a natural progression for Misner, who has volunteered since he was a child. He grew up just outside of Houston. His father was a sales representative for Dow Chemical, and Misner used to accompany him around to the large hospitals he visited.

“I have always been fascinated with medicine,” he said. “My grandfather died of pancreatic cancer when I was 13, and that motivated me.”

As a result, he is especially drawn to pediatric oncology cases and working with young cancer patients.

When he was 9 or 10 years old, he was working as a volunteer at Ben Taub General Hospital when it was treating its first AIDS patients. At the time, the disease inspired terror in many Americans, and people avoided any contact with AIDS patients or possible exposure. Misner was appalled by some of the things he saw.

“I felt these guys were being treated like zoo monkeys,” he said.

That was one experience inspiring his compassion.

After majoring in biology and chemistry at Loyola University in Chicago, he planned to enter the Peace Corps. But a friend in the Marshall Islands contacted him about the need for service in that South Pacific location – especially Ebeye, often called “the slum of the Pacific.”

So he served 2-1/2 years with the Jesuit Volunteers, the Catholic equivalent of the Peace Corps, in the Marshall Islands. He also has volunteered in Guatemala, and, while at Loyola, gained some experience in Cabrini Green, a notorious housing project in Chicago infamous for its crime and depressed conditions.

Inspired by those experiences, he pursued a theology degree at Catholic Theological Union in Hyde Park, Ill., before entering medical school at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Erie, Pa. There he met his best friend, Karissa, who later became his wife. They have one daughter, Lydia Grace.

After medical school and marriage, they moved to Baltimore, where she was a resident at Johns Hopkins, and he performed research there. He completed his internship in Michigan and his residency at OSU in Tulsa, while his wife served as an attending physician at St. Francis Medical Center.

While in Baltimore, Misner worked with inner city children in the Boys to Men program. They took young boys who had been found on the street, getting them involved in athletics, tutoring, and out of the cycle of poverty and gangs.

“It’s just my passion,” he said.

The Misners form a team in life and at NEOHealth, where she works as a physiatrist, a specialty unfamiliar in this area. Physiatrists, or rehabilitation physicians, are medical doctors who help restore people’s maximum function lost through injury, illness or debilitating conditions. They work with physical therapists and other professionals to decrease pain and enhance physical performance without surgery.

The Misners have moved to Tahlequah and are enjoying the quality of life in Cherokee County.

“I love what I’m doing here. I love the area and I’ve gotten really close to people I’ve met,” he said. “I’ve fulfilled a lifetime dream – I’ve bought a boat.”

Misner had been interested in the NHSC and had inquired about openings at the Morton clinic in Tulsa. That facility had just acquired a new building, and as a result, no longer qualified for a NHSC scholar. Its director made him aware of the opportunity with NEOHealth.

“That’s what got me into the National Health Corps, looking at an area that’s poor,” he said.

He likes the fact that the NEOHealth centers treat a broad spectrum of patients. Many have private insurance, while others are on SoonerCare or, if uninsured, pay a sliding fee scale according to their income. He considers practicing pediatric medicine a chance for him to give back to his community

“We want to reach out to the community, give the best care we can to every kid,” he said.

They are setting up an answering service so parents can receive round the clock answers to questions that come up. He also wants to set up an educational program for mothers in their third trimester of pregnancy, to answer questions they have about care of their newborns. This will be especially aimed at first-time mothers, although available to all.

And there’s the fun time, when Misner and Gaston enjoy interacting with children outside the office.

“We’ve been taking turns reading stories to the children at the library every other week,” Gaston said.

His commitment is surpassed only by his obvious enjoyment of his work, where he moves from one room to another, wearing a stethoscope adorned with a teddy bear.

“The most important thing is having pride in where we work,” he said. “I take pride in my patients and their care. If I owned this clinic, it wouldn’t be any different. Whatever I do, I give my best.”