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Michael W. Wheatley, M.D. Phone: (276)679-0321 Michael Wheatley is a board-certified physician who practices as one of the Medical Associates of Southwest Virginia, a multi-discipline practice that includes 4 internists, 3 family physicians, 1 cardiologist, 1 physician assistant, and 2 family nurse practitioners. Medical Associates of Southwest Virginia is affiliated with the Wellmont Health System. Born January 1, 1967, Dr. Wheatley is a citizen of the United States. He is married and has three children. Wheatley took a BS degree in 1989 from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. He received an MD from the University of Virginia School of Medicine in 1993. In 1996, he completed a three year residency in Family Practice with Carilion Health Systems of Roanoke, Virginia, a program affiliated with the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. Wheatley has been practicing medicine in Norton since completing his residency in 1996.
About 15% of Dr. Wheatley's patients are children aged 10 or less; 5% are adolescents; 55% are adults; and 25% are older adults. By source of pay, his patients are Medicare/Medicaid - 70%; commercial insurance - 25%; uninsured - 5%.
Dr. Wheatley really cares for his patients. Special areas of interest include pediatrics, dermatology, asthma, and diabetes. His personal interests included biking and weight lifting. And he particularly enjoys spending time with his wife and children. The Wheatleys attend a Lutheran church in Wise, Virginia. The highlight of his own residency, according to Dr. Wheatley, was a rural rotation he completed with Dr. Steve Prince, now one of his practice partners. During his rotation with Prince, Wheatley learned how to practice without immediate subspecialty backup and saw a greater variety of patients with a wider range of problems than in the Family Practice training center. His rural rotation showed Dr. Wheatley what it was really like to practice in a broad-based primary care setting. Wheatley now invites residents to learn these same lessons. Given enough notice, GMEC can locate a furnished house or apartment for residents who rotate with Dr. Wheatley. Residents may also choose to stay in area motels - Holiday Inn, Country Hearth Inn, Best Western, or Super 8. Wellmont Lonesome Pine is a 60-bed hospital with a wide range of services - emergency, inpatient and outpatient care, intensive care, surgery and anesthesia, obstetrics, radiology, imaging, cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, laboratory, nutrition, physical therapy, pharmacy, home health, and occupational medicine. Wellmont Health System is a non-profit integrated care delivery network that includes two tertiary level hospitals - Bristol Regional Medical Center (377 beds) and Holston Valley Medical Center (540 beds) along with Lonesome Pine. Norton lies in a long hollow shadowed by the northern face of spectacular Stone Mountain. The city is surrounded by land forever altered by surface (coal) mining, and its boundaries extend to those of the neighboring Town of Wise. The two municipalities share a population of around 12,000. The local economy is based on personal services, retail trade, manufacturing, communications, and transfer income (retirement pensions, disability income, and welfare benefits). In 1995, major employers included St. Mary's Hospital (now Mountain View Regional Medical Center), Wal-Mart, Norton Community Hospital, the school board, and a Pepsi-Cola bottling plant. Two four-lane highways - US 23 and US Alternate 58 - intersect in Norton and offer easy access for travelers in Southwest Virginia and Southeast Kentucky. There are three shopping centers in the Norton/Wise area with any number of department stores, groceries, discount stores, and specialty boutiques. There is a two-screen cinema in one of the shopping centers. American, Chinese, Mexican, and Italian "sit-down" restaurants compete with many fast food vendors for dining dollars. The Virginia/Kentucky "Opry" in downtown Norton showcases bluegrass, gospel, and country music acts on weekends. Norton has two parks with well-equipped playgrounds in the downtown area. On Stone Mountain, high above the city streets, are the Flag Rock and High Knob recreation areas with facilities for hiking, biking, swimming, picnicking, and fishing. From a fire tower on High Knob, visitors can enjoy a breathtaking 360-degree view of the surrounding countryside. Just on the other side of Stone Mountain are Bark Camp Lake and High Knob Lake, both created by dams built to store municipal water supplies and prevent flash floods. On the same mountain range are the dramatic Falls of the Little Stony, Guest River Gorge, and Hanging Rock Trail. For more information about Norton and neighboring counties, please see our county/city profiles.
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Dr.
Wheatley works in an office setting from 8:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. five
days a week (Monday - Friday). His office is located in a spacious new
medical office building in Norton. There is a laboratory of high complexity
on the premises. The facility is equipped for simple x-rays, echocardiography,
ultrasound, and bone density scans. Dr. Wheatley sees 20-22 patients
a day in the office. Procedures performed on the premises include excise
and punch biopsies, cryos, pap smears, minor skin surgery, and joint/soft
tissue injections.
Dr.
Wheatley maintains Newborn, Pediatric, Medicine, ICU/CCU, and ventilator
privileges at Wellmont Lonesome Pine Hospital in Big Stone Gap, Virginia,
where he rounds on 2-5 patients per day. He is on call about 20% of
the time (4 days one week, 3 days next week, 0 days next two weeks).
Residents may participate in call schedule as they wish or as required
by their training program.