After 15 years in Lawrence, Dr. Thomas Fulbright has closed his practice to accept a position with a medical clinic in LaCygne.

Fulbright said his decision to leave Lawrence wasn’t easy.

“I love Lawrence,” he said. “My practice kept me busy, but not busy enough to make ends meet. And because I was self-employed, I had to worry about the business aspects of medicine.”

The move to LaCygne, he said, “was an opportunity for me to be busier than I was in Lawrence.”

Fulbright started in LaCygne Sept. 26, after ending his Lawrence practice Sept. 14. He said he sent notification letters to patients in mid-August.

The switch didn’t sit well with some patients, who remain concerned about retrieving their medical records.

“I was shocked that he was no longer in practice. I didn’t receive a letter,” said Bob Fisher, a patient of Fulbright’s. “I had a prescription I needed to refill. I had to go find another doctor.”

Fulbright, a solo practitioner, said his patients may send a letter to his now-closed office – 330 Ark., Lawrence, KS, 66044 – asking for a copy of their file.

“The letters will be forwarded to my home and I will make sure that the records are copied and sent to the physician of their choice,” Fulbright said.

His patients, he said, also may leave messages for him at the LaCygne Family Care clinic: (913) 757-4575.

The LaCygne clinic is affiliated with Olathe Medical Services Inc.