March 12th 2026 |
Photo – Bigfoot 99 file photo
Good news for the Town of Hanna. A husband‑and‑wife medical team, who operate in Saratoga, is preparing to reopen the shuttered clinic in northern Carbon County.
During Tuesday evening’s Hanna Town Council meeting, Mayor Charlie George said that Steve Martin, a physician assistant with Pathfinder Medical and Saratoga Urgent Care, plans to begin seeing patients in Hanna. Mayor George said Martin and administrators from Memorial Hospital of Carbon County, which owns the Hanna clinic building, have reached an agreement to reopen the unused medical facility in roughly six weeks.
The Memorial Hospital of Carbon County Family Practice Clinic in Hanna closed last April after Physician Assistant Peggy Lake retired.
Originally, Lake had planned to step down six months earlier, but volunteered to continue seeing patients until Memorial Hospital could find her replacement.
Speaking to Bigfoot99 at the time of the closure, Memorial Hospital Chief Operating Officer Stephanie Hinkle explained that attracting qualified candidates and their families to Carbon County was proving to be a significant challenge.
Efforts to find Lake’s permanent replacement were unsuccessful and Memorial Hospital Physician Assistant Sophie Baxter stepped in to treat patients in Hanna. However, citing “mounting operational losses,” the Board of Trustees opted to close the clinic and the facility has sat vacant since last April.
At Tuesday’s Hanna Town Council meeting, Mayor George said Martin and his wife, Jolena, both physician assistants, began talks to reopen the Hanna clinic in October.
After six months of negotiations, Memorial Hospital agreed to the terms, and the Martins will start seeing patients once the facility is prepared for use.
Mayor George said the clinic will open twice a month at first as the Martins gauge demand. The mayor added that most Hanna residents are already familiar with Jolena from her practice in Saratoga.
Mayor George said that when Memorial Hospital operated the clinic, providers saw between 25 and 30 patients a week. If that level continues, and the mayor said he is hopeful it will, the Martins may expand the clinic’s hours of operation.
Councilman Sam Sikes added that Physician Assistant Martin said he typically sees around 40 Hanna patients each month.
Mayor George thanked Memorial Hospital of Carbon County for allowing the Martins to reopen clinic. The building will continue to be called the MHCC Family Practice Clinic Hanna. The mayor said Martin has no objection to the name and is only focused on supporting Hanna residents.
Mayor George encouraged Hanna residents to seek care from the Martins after they reopen the clinic. If demand is high enough, the mayor said Martin is open to hiring another physician assistant specifically for the community.
While the town itself isn’t being asked to financially support the clinic in any way, Mayor George offered to cover heating costs if requested.
Physician Assistants Steve and Jolena Martin are scheduled to reopen the Memorial Hospital of Carbon County Family Practice Clinic in Hanna near the end of April.
