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By Carrie Hudson

Intern Reporter

Many know the saying, “When one door closes, another one will open.” The saying itself has been around for ages. But the testament of opportunity shortly following change remains truthful and can be seen through Nicholasville Pediatrics clinic.

The world of medicine can be busy. Particularly if you are working at a clinic that serves thousands of patients. That was the environment that Dr. Gary Weniberger came from when he first returned to Jessamine County and made the decision to open his own practice.

“He moved to western Kentucky where we met. He was a part of a very large practice there, they had over 11,000 patients, which is a super high volume, but they had many doctors…He was crazy busy there and decided he wanted to go into solo practice with himself,” Rachel Weinberger, Gary’s wife said.

Growing up in Jessamine County, Gary saw a need in the community for a doctor and felt he could serve through medicine and health services. At the time, there was only one doctor in the community, which left an opportunity for him and his practice.

“We decided to move here because there was a need for pediatricians in the area. There was only one at the time, and this area was larger than where he moved from. We just thought there was a need here for another doctor, and we were right. There is a great need for physicians in most places,” Rachel said.

From there, in 2006, their practice has grown, and now has two locations in Jessamine County: one in Nicholasville (610 North Main St.) and they recently opened a location in Wilmore (312 East Main St.) last fall.

“He has been in Nicholasville all that time, up until 2006, when he opened up in Wilmore last September. He is still going back and forth between Nicholasville and Wilmore,” Rachel said.

As the practice has grown and developed, so have the services the Weinberger’s provide for the community. Since opening in Wilmore, Gary and Rachel have held numerous family-centered activities for the community.

“We have done story times and things we call make-and-takes, where kiddos come in and make whatever craft we have available and take it with them,” Rachel said.

The Weinbergers host these activities at their Wilmore location, mainly during times when the city of Wilmore is already hosting an event. This way, people are already out, walking around town and looking for things to do.

“We try to do things mainly whenever the people are already out. With it being a small town, I think it lends itself more to that. Where we are located downtown, it is very high traffic, we can easily just fling our doors open and say, ‘Hey, we are doing this today,’ it is very neighborly,” Rachel said.

For Gary and Rachel, having activities for the family to participate in together directly correlates with one of the purposes of their practice- being a safe spot in the community for families.

Rachel stated they hope to “help grow the family and continue to have things that they can do together that will increase their family time. You know, we are all kind of fighting the isolation of being on our phones and being distracted. But we think it is important to spend time together…We just want to be a way and place for people to connect with their kids and other parents.”

Being a place for families to come and gather has been something the Weinbergers have wanted to become since they moved to Jessamine County and discovered there were very few places of that nature.

“We have four boys; the oldest is sixteen. When they were little, there were not a lot of activities for families to do in the community besides the library. It often felt hard for me as a new mom to connect and find places to plug in and places to let the kids go that had activities specifically planned for them,” Rachel said.

From there, they set out to create a place to fill that gap in the community. Over the years, their practice and work for the community has become a deeply fulfilling career. Since Rachel and Gary have experienced parenthood, it lends them a sense of familiarity with things many of the patients and their parents may be experiencing. This further allows them to be a sense of comfort.

“It has been wonderful to help my husband support his medical practice here and to encourage mommas when they walk through the door when their kiddos are sick, and they are stressed and they are tired. Just to be there and say, ‘Hi, I’ve been there and I understand.’ With being a mom and loving moms, and Gary being a dad. It is just a natural fit for us both to do,” Rachel said.

Rachel explained how their clinic is designed to help parents navigate parenthood and provide a sense of community for them. This includes having a collection of books for parents to take home and read on a variety of topics.

“We have a selection of books in our library based on parenting topics and things kids go through. It is like a little lending library, where parents can check, take home, read, and bring back when they have a moment,” she said.

A local moms group is another thing Gary and Rachel started in hopes of creating a sense of community between families and mothers around the community.

“We also try to connect them to a local moms group that meets in Wilmore. So, we have that information for people that are new mommas or have a little one at home and need to connect with other parents,” Rachel said.

Rachel empathized with the value of “human connection- it is super important. For little ones, being able to play with little ones, and for moms to sit and connect and have a friendship. That is something we would like to bolster more and have a space for that to happen.”

Gary and Rachel hope to expand upon their work for the community and continue to provide healthcare.

“He is just an excellent doctor. He is a good listener, allows parents to be a part of their experience and healthcare, and continues to do a little more for the community regarding giving back. We want to continue to grow what we are already doing,” Rachel said.

Nicholasville Pediatrics is currently not taking in any new patients; however, there is a waitlist for individuals wanting to join. Rachel explained, “That is so we can take care of our patients to the best of our ability and so they can always have access to their doctor.”

For anyone wanting to join the waitlist, please call the office at (859) 881-0533 and let the receptionist know.

To learn more about Nicholasville Pediatrics and its activities, please check out their website: nicholasvillepediatrics.com.