Middle Peninsula Medical Center opened for business Jan. 9 at the Ward’s Corner intersection of Buckley Hall and Route 14 in Mathews.

Christian F. Wathen, a Mathews County native, owns the new practice. She is assisted by Rachel Hudgins, a registered nurse, and Rachel Dehoux, the office manager.

Wathen said she wants to spend more time with her patients. She plans to see about 14 patients a day, half to two-thirds fewer than many doctors see.

To accomplish this, she charges a yearly membership fee. For clients, it will mean more time with a doctor when they want to be seen.

Wathen offers routine medical procedures and has an in-house lab. She sees adult men and women including seniors.

She encourages a healthy lifestyle of eating and exercise, trying to thwart high cholesterol, diabetes and other conditions.

Wathen began working for Riverside Medical Group in 1997, first as an outpatient internal medicine physician in Deltaville and more recently at the RMG office in Mathew...