Swift River Health Care and Elsemore Dixfield Center are family practice centers and clinical departments of Rumford Hospital. They are medical groups of physicians, nurses, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, a nurse-midwife and a counselor who are dedicated to the concept of family practice.

In family practice, providers treat the whole family and the whole individual. They are not just interested in your symptoms, but in all the different areas that can affect your health - your family, your work, your diet, your emotional life.

Family practice covers all ages - young and old. The family practice physicians, the OB/GYN and the certified nurse midwife deliver babies and cater to the unique needs of seniors.

Swift River Health Care in Rumford is conveniently located right beside Rumford Hospital. The Elsemore Dixfield Center is on Weld Street in Dixfield, opposite Dirigo High School. We also manage a clinic at Mountain Valley High School.

Swift River Health Care and Elsemore Dixfield Center have been the leaders in primary care for the River Valley for years. We have built a core of health care providers to meet the needs of our community. We are family practice physicians, an obstetrician/gynecologist, a certified nurse midwife, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, a counselor, nurses, medical technicians and support staff.

But what is Family Practice, anyway? The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) defines family practice as the medical specialty that provides continuing and comprehensive health care for the individual and family. It is the specialty in breadth, which integrates the biological, clinical and behavioral sciences. The scope of family practice encompasses all ages, both sexes, each organ system, and every disease entity.

Family Practitioners are trained to manage obstetrical patients, pediatrics, as well as adult medicine for men and women. Family physicians are defined by the AAFP as physicians who are educated and trained in family practice - a broadly encompassing medical specialty. Family physicians possess unique skills, and knowledge which qualify them to provide continuing and comprehensive medical care, health maintenance and preventive services to each member of the family regardless of sex, age or type of problem, biological, behavioral or social. These specialists, because of their background and interactions with the family are best qualified to serve as each patient's advocate in all health-related matters.

Swift River Health Care and Elsemore Dixfield Center Providers

		Sean Callender, M.D. Elsmore-Dixfield Center 100 Weld Street Dixfield, Maine  04276 Telephone: 207-562-4226 Department: Family Medicine Degrees: Southern Adventist University, Collegedale, Tenn; M.D., Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA Residency: Cascades East Family Medicine Residency, Klamath Falls, Ore.
		Carolyn Garcia, M.D. Swift River Health Care 430 Franklin Street Rumford, Maine  04276 Telephone: 207-364-0146 Department: Obstetrics-Gynecology Degrees: Tufts Medical Center, Boston Residency: Obstetrics/gynecology, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke Medical Center, Chicago Special Interests: Women's health, infertility, menopausal symptoms
		Dieter Kreckel, M.D. Swift River Health Care 430 Franklin Street Rumford, Maine  04276 Telephone: 207-369-0146 Department: Family Medicine Degrees: B.S., Shippensburg State University, Edinboro, Pa.; M.S., Washington State University, Pullman, Wash.; M.D., Temple University Medical School, Philadelphia Residency: St. Joseph's Hospital, Syracuse, N.Y. Board Certification: American Board of Family Practice Special Interests: Obstetrics, occupational health, sports medicine, pediatrics, alternative/wilderness medicine
		John E. Kroger, M.D. Swift River Health Care 430 Franklin Street Rumford, Maine  04276 Telephone: 207-369-0146 Department: Family Medicine Degrees: B.S., Bates College, Lewiston, Maine; M.D., Baylor College of Medicine, Houston Residency: Lancaster General Hospital, Lancaster, Pa. Board Certification: American Board of Family Practice Special Interests: Pediatrics, obstetrics, orthopedics, dermatology
		Rick A. Marden,M.D. Elsmore-Dixfield Center 100 Weld Street Dixfield, Maine  04276 Telephone: 207-562-4226 Department: Family Medicine Degrees: B.S., Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Mich.; M.D., Loma Linda University, School of Medicine, Loma Linda, Calif. Residency: East Tennessee State University, Bristol Family Practice Program, Bristol, Tenn. Special Interests: obstetrics