Country Doctor

Deep in a medical desert, Fairfax Community Hospital serves the small rural town of Fairfax, Oklahoma, population 1,263, as well as being the only nearby hospital for a broad swath of communities that surround it. In 2019 the hospital went bankrupt due the illegal billing practices of the company that ran it. The hospital staff rallied to keep the doors open, going for months without a paycheck. Eventually the hospital was put up for sale in an out-of-state auction where it was purchased by a California physician for 2.1 million dollars.

At the center of the story is Dr. James Graham, a country doctor who cares for the people of Fairfax and surrounding towns. He is one of only two doctors at the hospital, three clinics and the nursing home. In his quest to save the hospital, he ventures as far as the Oklahoma state capitol with an urgent call for help. The film also features the publisher and editor of the town’s newspaper, Joe and Carol Conner, who take on the task of trying to vet potential bidders amid worries that an outside buyer might not understand the needs of their small town—or worse, could exploit the hospital for profit as had happened before. Also included in the mix is new owner, Dr. Elizabeth Pusey, who has high hopes that she can make a difference.

Filmed cinema verité style over a three year period, "Country Doctor" follows the fate of the hospital and the life and times of a modern day country doctor who treats a rural population that includes the poor, the old and the uninsured, administering his folksy style of medicine and still making house calls.