Martindale Family Medicine Clinic

07/17/2025

The votes have been tallied, our readers have spoken! Now see who was voted as the best and favorites in the 2025 H.O.T Readers' Choice Awards. (Free to View) https://wacotrib.com/special-section/article_5c759eb6-e9c3-49d8-aae6-13c8a185b3b4.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_Waco_Tribune-Herald

08/04/2024

This year (2024) Martindale Family Medicine Clinic was voted top primary clinic (and top primary care physician) again by the Waco Tribune-Herald's Heart of Texas Reader's Choice Award, and Locals Love Us noted readers voted for us as well. NP Jessica Dine is taking applications for new patients, Dr. Martindale, our manager, two front office staff, and three medical assistants find great joy and fulfillment in being kind and bringing healing to thousands of Waco area patients.

Congratulations to Martindale Family Medicine Clinic for being an Award Winner in Medical Clinics!!!! Stop by for any Health needs you might have!!!!

www.LocalsLoveUs.com

03/02/2024

Bulgarian split squats
I have a long ways to go, but to make sure I have the stamina and health to work a lot more years, I am in my fourth month with the trainer Jerry Snyder. Today he mentioned that any exercise that has a European name is unlikely to be simple, after we had finished it (very beginning style) and I did not need to be told that.
https://www.allinhealthandwellness.com/?fbclid=IwAR09wbX2X_6Cm9ZaGnaBYIKYSZQ25RrZNbu3MsfPapW0nfsqseHb0X8djAs

Give your body the green light to better health. Transformation starts here. All In Health and Wellness, Waco, Texas.

04/04/2023

FNP Jessica Beverly married January 2023 and is now FNP Jessica Dine.

11/25/2022

Clinic is closed for Thanksgiving weekend Thu/Fri/Sat/Sun. We open again Mon 8 am 11/28/22. Dr. Martindale is on call for emergency needs (call clinic or text him), is available for necessary refills that cannot wait, or telemedicine visits so we can avoid the emergency room if not needed. May your weekend be safe, nutritious, restful.

07/26/2022

We are in the middle of a significant Omicron/COVID surge in Waco. Our clinic is still in the thick of helping with this.
1. We are testing every day. Call 254-262-3188 to set up testing and telemed appt to review care/concerns
2. There are some great options for treatment now, which we are doing daily. Meds like Paxlovid and Molnupiravir. This requires some discussion and review of meds to prescribe, but it is paid for by the government. There is also Monoclonal antibody treatment, though low on supply in Waco currently.
3. We have the Moderna booster vaccine available; we have been doing this Mon/Wed/Fri.

02/03/2022

With the snow and ice this am, we are delaying opening till 10 am, and then re-evaluate. We are still doing telemedicine today from homes.

07/25/2021

High alert this coming week in Waco. COVID delta is here and booming with higher contagiousness and a bit less protection for the vaccinated (about 80%), so we should be careful again for a bit. Thankfully, many of you are protected, but even you should be thoughtful for the sake of others. It's hard to go back to cautious when we had just felt the pressure/danger easing.

All the usual: masks when in groups, especially of unvaccinated; lots of hand-washing; keep your health strong to maximize your immune system (good sleep/nutrition/positive thoughts and attitudes/fitness); breathing (deep breathing 10x 3x/d and prone breathing 15 min 2x/d) and supplements such as Vit D (D3 5000 units daily/C (500 mg daily)/zinc (25-50 mg daily).

We had quite a few that tested positive in our parking lot this past week, the hospitals are filling up (and numerous health workers are sick) and I have been coaching sick patients this weekend. We used all our vaccine this past week, but are expecting more. We will be wearing masks at our clinic (staff and patients; we have masks if you need one), and seeing sick patients in the parking lot. We can still do telemedicine if you need help or medicine but don't want to get out (this is no longer available for controlled substances).

02/14/2021

Icy Week Schedule!

I drove (5 mph for 1 mile) to weatherize clinic building today (Sunday) and ice covers roads and the parking lot. It is not safe.

Due to cold/snow/ice/winds, we will not open our building Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, February 15-17 2021. All our staff will work from home, so we will answer phones (254-262-3188) regular hours, answer questions, send in refills, do telemedicine (both NP Jessica and I have appts available) all day Monday, Tuesday till noon, all day Wednesday, and we hope to be back in the clinic building on Thursday. We will not do COVID testing in the parking lot till it is safe, but we can discuss and manage it by telemedicine. If you can't get through easily, email me at tim@martindalemed.com or use the portal or text me.

A common question is vaccine availability at our clinic. We are approved as a vaccine dispensing site for our patients; we have ordered vaccine, but we have not received any yet; not sure when we will, but we are keeping names on a waiting list.

Stay safe, drive minimally, call us when you need us!

12/31/2020

for such a time as 2020

in the book of Esther, Mordecai suggests that Esther was placed in a position where she could help others for just such a time as the disaster her people were facing

while we all agree 2020 has been a hard year with worldwide disease, losing so many people we love and admire, innumerable personal and business failures, isolation and precautions, cancellations of much we love and need, school disruptions and political unrest,

it has also been a year of opportunity for courage and resilience, an opportunity to step up and serve

people from every walk of life have refused to let grief over deaths of friends and family, the daily fear of disease, disappointments of businesses closing and lost employment, fears of national and world turmoil stop them from moving into harm's way and making a difference

nurses, respiratory therapists, midlevel providers, administrators, physicians and many other medical staff in our nation's and world's hospitals have chosen to risk their lives to help those in need, even when faced with shortages and the unknown
but it's not just there...
teachers have braved threats of illness, tackled new technologies to keep teaching our children
grocery stores and restaurants have braved losses, shortages, and threats of disease to provide food for our communities
emergency personnel of all kinds have kept people safe and risked their health at the same time
churches have adjusted and found new ways to meet physical and spiritual needs of their communities
political leaders have made hard decisions to protect and get supplies to their citizens
bankers have spent long hours helping businesses and individuals stave off failure
parents have juggled jobs and shortages and flexed with the needs of their children
scientists and business people worked at breakneck speed and skill to bring a vaccine to the world... and on and on

while we have always enjoyed serving our few thousand patients, when I went down with life-threatening COVID illness for a month in April, I came back to my medical team eager to get back and serve, willing to test and treat our ill patients daily in the parking lot (yesterday in the cold/wind/rain), answer countless questions for patients and coach them through illness, find people the best help and understanding and resources they needed at the best price; it made us more alive to know we could uniquely meet the needs of the community in this time; it wasn't a time to make money, it was a time to lay up more treasure in heaven

the stories of heroism in 2020 are innumerable; it bodes well for victories in 2021

so while we can't wait to put 2020 behind, our courage and resourcefulness and kindness were for such a time as this

tim martindale

11/26/2020

For those who have asked, the blog I did about my experience with COVID on Channel 10 in April 2020 is still available. This was the earlier days when mortality was higher, testing was hard to find, there were very few treatment options:
https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kwtx.com%2Fhealth%2Fdr-martindales-daily%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR0LuKPkW2WzidDbUVPNx_O4TKbkcwx0vaKlzl7ir72tKUbxkDez-G_wo4o&h=AT2vuUHpe68d2ISNyX12PuBwHrWPDdofDIVE8QEZKPu-QpQxVEBv9FLM7dAzvLVF-o_vIYpk3k8IuwbVBKO1jCA_ctm6_1b_5P7LMm3i5BXApqWPAOku8KilV4lm0wIE2mWTuyzrNvhZ-XpIoV4

11/15/2020

COVID-19 review (I had it and missed the month of April)
This is generally what I am saying to my patients, but things change almost daily, and your situation may be different.

I am testing every weekday at my clinic in the parking lot. Every day I am calling and coaching people who test positive. We are in a virus surge, but we will get through this. Be cautious and wise; the vaccine is near; November through February will continue to be rough, but the great majority of us will be fine. Wear masks and be careful with contact with others; if you think you may have it, quarantine until you know. The following are things I'm telling my patients daily.

Testing
* Rapid tests detect the COVID antigen; positive tests are very reliable, negative tests are not as much, and may need follow up with the PCR test to be sure. These are offered at many places, but change from week to week. Call ahead to stand-alone ERs, urgent cares, and pharmacies to know how they do this safely.
* PCR tests are more reliable and accurate, but take 1-4 days for results. State supplied tests and sites are free, but take longer. I am doing PCR tests at my office daily for my patients, and every clinic has a plan for testing; just call your provider to find out that plan.
* For Martindale Family Medicine Clinic (254-262-3188), we do not see anyone with infection symptoms inside our clinic, but each patient with concerns does a telemedicine visit that day with NP Jessica Beverly or me, then I meet them in the parking lot at 4:30 (12:15 on Tue) and test for COVID (and/or strep or flu) and examine them if needed. I am very cautious/patient/gentle but thorough with doing the nasal swab, so it is usually not painful, but I have to go to a place in your nose things don't normally go. I test all ages. I usually get results and call the next day, though occasionally it may take an extra day (especially in this surge). We send tests to CPL for results, and they charge $100 to your insurance or send them for government payment if uninsured. I do not charge for testing, just a copay for the one telemedicine visit that documents why we need to do the test (and that copay is often waived by insurance).

Treatment
* Hospital: Both our local hospitals have several good treatments. All the medicines are IV, and include Remdesivir, Dexamethasone, and convalescent serum (antibodies from someone who had illness and recovered). Bamlanivimab, the newest treatment approved, is on its way soon, but not available locally yet. Also patients are given high flow oxygen, coached on breathing, given supplements and nutrition to help, careful monitoring of vital signs, and intubation/ventilation if necessary. Most do fine in the hospital.
* Home: supplements/breathing/immune support.
Supplements I suggest include Vitamin D (I suggest Vit D3 5000 units daily to promote immune system and healing), Vitamin C (500-1000 mg daily), Zinc (25-50 mg daily to limit virus' ability to make copies of itself), and baby Aspirin (81 mg daily to protect from microclots triggered by virus).
Breathing exercises should include several deep breaths through nose if possible, holding it a few seconds, then breathing out through pursed lips; do this several times a day. In addition, prone breathing means laying on your face/chest and taking deep breaths for a few minutes several times a day.
Work at keeping immune system strong: good nutrition with healthy food, drinking 2-3 liters of water daily (if no heart problems), plenty of sleep/rest, staying active with walking and moving (but not overdoing it), having positive attitudes: listen to positive music, watch positive/courageous media, talk to your friends and family often, and keep your faith strong (sing songs and pray or whatever supports your personal belief system).

When to consider hospital
* Common symptoms are fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, headache, body aches. Less common are loss of smell and taste (but if present, are more likely positive), rash, vomiting and diarrhea. Most of the time anyone can stay home with these.
* If you are having a hard time breathing. If possible, use an O2 pulse oximeter to monitor; if O2 drops below 90%, you might need to consider hospital. Also if you're breathing very fast, wheezing or hands and lips are turning blue.
* If you are having significant chest pressure/pain, especially if you have a lung or heart condition. An evaluation with vital signs, chest x-ray and exam might reassure it's fine to stay home, or confirm you need to be in the hospital to manage your risks.
* If you are getting dehydrated. Some people have persistent vomiting and diarrhea. If you can't get enough liquids and nutrition in you, you may need to be in the hospital.
* Unmanageable fever and pain. If Temp stays over 104, if the body aches are overwhelming, or if the pain/fever make you delirious, you may need to be in the hospital.
If you do go to the ER, someone should call ahead so they can prepare for you and let you know their procedure for coming in.