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North Augusta gains endocrinology practice on West Avenue
January 1, 2024 | By Bauer Vaughters, MD
More convenient diabetes care — and other treatments for various endocrine conditions — is opening this month in North Augusta.
Dr. Bauer Vaughters is expanding his Aiken practice to North Augusta, opening a location at 400 West Ave. by the end of July.
Endocrinology is a branch of primary medicine that includes treating diabetes, osteoporosis, thyroid disease, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, low testosterone, endocrine cancer and other endocrine disorders.
Vaughters opened Aiken & North Augusta Endocrinology in 2003. His practice has gained numerous patients as far as Waynesboro, Ga., and Vaughters said it was getting to the point that the one office just wasn’t big enough anymore.
Having an office in North Augusta would give his patients more convenient access to care, something Vaughters said was especially important when endocrinology — namely, diabetes treatment — is very “patient-dependent.”
“A lot of patients, if they’re waiting nine months [to get in], they’re just going to quit,” he said. “I think we can intervene in that way.”
Vaughters said he’s helped those who come from urgent care or the hospital, their blood sugars not under control for years on end, but that it can take just a week to regulate them, “if they buy into it.”
“And a lot of people will buy in if they feel better,” he said. “If they feel miserable, and you get them feeling better, you can hopefully get buy-in. And that’s a big part of it.”
It builds motivation, excitement and sense of agency over their own health, he added.
Keifer Richardson, PA-C, will be the main face at the North Augusta office.
North Augusta Endocrinology will have a slow open starting the week of July 29, with Richardson there for a half day on Tuesdays and Vaughters there on Thursdays, the office then building up to a full-time schedule.
Richardson said that not only will it give ease of access for existing patients, but that it “will be a good option, too, for patients who are struggling to get in with endocrinology in the Augusta area. A lot of those practices have six- to nine-month waits.”
Vaughters is a medical doctor in private practice and is unaffiliated with any one hospital or university.
“One of the advantages we have is that we can send patients to Piedmont, Wellstar, Columbia, Prisma — anywhere. We’re not restricted where we can send people,” he said.
Being in private practice also means that Vaughters is generally able to see a new consult within one month, not six, and sometimes even the next day if the patient is referred by a doctor.
Vaughters studied at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine before completing his residency in Internal Medicine at Wake Forest University in 2001. He then did his fellowship in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at the Medical College of Georgia.
Find more information, visit aikenendocrinology.com or stop by Post and Courier North Augusta’s Health & Life Expo on Aug. 29 at North Augusta Community Center — Vaughters or one of his providers will be there to engage with the community.