McGlynn boasts of a wide and varied medical career. He’s working to pass his exam to become an M.D., which he says won’t add much to his current capabilities.

“The only thing I’ll be able to do when I pass the exam and get the title that I cannot do now as a physician assistant (PA) is bill insurance and Medicare, which we won’t be doing anyway,” he said. “But the education aspect of it is very important.”

McGlynn said he finished his undergraduate degree at Youngstown State University, earned a Medical Science (PA) degree at Alderson Broaddus College in West Virginia, and earned his medical degree at the University of Santiago in the Dominican Republic. He claims work at the Boston City Hospital at a Level I trauma center and says he also did clinical nutrition work there. He also worked at a Level I trauma center in New York City.

“I’ve done everything from set broken bones to deliver babies and just about everything in-between,” he said. “I am board certified and my peers treat me as an equal. But besides my experience, I think my best attribute is knowing what I can do and what I can’t do.”

One patient on hand during McGlynn’s interview with The Times raved about the PA’s bedside manner and knowledge.

“He is a very caring doctor,” said Barbara Pollack of Valdosta. “He really listens to you. He explains things to you. He doesn’t just run in and run out like so many doctors do.”

Joby Jolly, the clinic’s administrative assistant who might be the first person a patient meets upon arriving in the front lobby, backed up McGlynn’s promise of honest business.

“If you call, we will tell you right up front that the office visit is $60 and if anything else is needed, there may be other charges but that you will be made aware of before we do anything,” Jolly said.

(The clinic’s medical director and staff physician weren’t present or available for an interview in time for this report.)

Express Care is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and can be reached at 229-242-9993. Plans are to open up for extended evening hours on one weekday a week once business builds up, and they’ll add more staff when the demand is there. Counting McGlynn and his wife who manages the office, Jolly and the two staff doctors, the clinic has five employees.

Asked what drew an Ohioan to the South, McGlynn explained: “Everyone has found out that the southeast is a great place to live. And after working so many years at large institutions, hospitals and universities, it’s great to live in a place like Valdosta where there are such great people and such a great quality of life here. It makes me happy to be able to live out a mission to help care for such good people.”