If he could, Dr. Hojat Askari would give everyone he cares about a hug — that would be everyone in Yavapai County.
For now, his arms are spread out for “air hugs” as he works to figure out the best ways to help his greater family fight the COVID19 pandemic.
As medical director, and an internal medicine specialist, at Prescott’s Thumb Butte Medical Center & Urgent Care, his “I love you, I love you all” philosophy (and his greetings whenever he appears in public) continues to be his mainstay.
“We are deeply involved in taking care of you today and in your future wellness.” As the medical field as a whole grapples with the exponentially growing numbers of cases and deaths, he looks to what can be done locally and what connections can be made to help everyone.
“We should be prepared for a pandemic here in Prescott and hotels need to be called into service to quarantine patients,” he says. “House calls are being made and telemedicine is available 24 hours a day to take care of you.”
He recommends anything catering to the public should be shut down for as many hours as possible.
Askari is working with labs to figure out how to get results as soon as possible so that he or his team can quickly determine whether a person should rest at home, be given appropriate prescriptions or be sent to the hospital. Speed is important in lining up these tools, he says. “It’s about saving the community.”
“I think, ‘What would I do for my mother, father if they were sick?’ What would I do?” he says. So, he is working to figure out ways to “attack this problem as fast as we can, rather than have regrets.” He isn’t the kind of guy who waits around for others to take action; he jumps in.
He knows people are afraid, the economy is at risk. His actions are “because we do not want to be the No. 1 mortality city.”
“High temperatures, tightness in the chest, serve shortness of breath, dry cough, these high-risk people would be tested first,” he says. His medical center has a pharmacy on site — locally owned Thumb Butte Pharmacy with free delivery — or prescriptions can be called in elsewhere, he says.
His three clinics — Prescott, Prescott Valley and a newly opened one in Chino Valley — are all set up to do COVID-19 testing.
Isn’t he concerned about getting ill?
“My blood isn’t any different than my patients. If I get it, I’ll survive, self quarantine and get in another doctor to replace me,” he says. “We want to save our community. We have been working very hard for our community.”
It might not be a surprise then that the doctor’s motto for his medical center is: “We treat you like our family.” Five minutes with this man, and one knows that the tradition of caring for family is just who he is and is woven throughout his thinking and behavior.
Askari started out in Prescott over 10 years ago making house calls. Over the years he has grown his multispecialty medical center, which is now staffed with 20 medical professionals specializing in family medicine, internal medicine, cardiology, allergy treatment, podiatry, dermatology, urology, chronic pain management, gastroenterology, radiology center coming soon, and neurology coming soon.
Askari says it’s his time to give back to the community.
“It’s for our mothers, fathers, sisters and families. We are in this together.”
“Love you all. Amen.”
Don’t Panic!
At Thumb Butte Medical we treat you like our family. Come in and see us for a COVID19 test. We accept most major insurances. Don’t have insurance? No problem; we will still see you.
COVID-19 Testing available
TBMC Prescott (Monday-Friday)
TBMC Prescott Valley (Monday-Friday)
TBMC Chino Valley (Monday-Friday)
Thumb Butte Medical Center — Prescott Location
Board Certified Physicians
3124 Willow Creek Road,
Prescott, AZ 86301
928-445-7085
www.thumbbuttemedicalcenter.com
About Dr. A (pictured above)
Dr. Hojat Askari, or “Dr. A” as many of his patients and friends call him, is the founder and medical director of Thumb Butte Medical Center at 3124 Willow Creek Road, Prescott, AZ.
The 30,000-square-foot state-of-the-art multispecialty medical clinics was the dream of his father who wanted medical clinics to serve people in need.
Today, Dr. Askari’s Thumb Butte Medical Center, employs over 20 medical professionals, both full-time and part-time doctors, specializing in family medicine, internal medicine, cardiology, allergy treatment, and foot and ankle surgery.
Our Mission at Thumb Butte Medical Center
“Our mission is to provide excellent and accessible medical care. We treat our patients with the utmost respect, dignity and honesty in a healing environment. I have emphasized to each of the doctors who work at Thumb Butte Medical Center that all patients are to be treated like their own family. We have gathered an excellent team of exceptionally qualified medical doctors of various specialties and we are all honored to be a part of your health care.”
– Hojat Askari, M.D., Board Certified Internal Medicine, Medical Director
Prescott:
3124 Willow Creek Road
Prescott, AZ 86301
928-445-7085
Prescott Valley:
6946 E. Hwy 69
Prescott Valley, AZ 86314
928-775-9007
Chino Valley:
87 South Route 89
Chino Valley, AZ 86323
928-208-4309