Dr. Merle C. Turner, D.O.

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Get to know Family Practitioner Dr. Merle C. Turner, who serves patients in Chandler, Arizona.

Dr. Turner, a well respected family practitioner, is the Medical Director of Warner Family Practice in Chandler, Arizona. He founded Warner Family Practice in 1981 as Lakes Family Practice and the name was changed to Warner Family Practice in 1983. 

“We have strived to build a clinic that encompasses all of a patient’s needs. Patients will not have to go here or there for a particular test but rather pretty much everything can be done in one location. We have worked hard to have quality providers that are not only qualified medically but also listen to their patients and are attentive to their needs” he stated.

For Dr. Turner, patient care takes many forms, however, he is particularly passionate about the practice of preventative care. Though his passion for preventative care is all-encompassing, he sums it up with the simple philosophy of, “Preventing a problem is better than trying to cure a problem.”

“One of the most rewarding parts of practicing medicine is taking the time to listen to the stories of individual patients and using all the education and experience I’ve accumulated to decipher what is happening in a medical sense” expressed the doctor. 

A true Kansas native, born in Wisconsin but raised in Southwest Kansas, Dr. Turner attended elementary school, middle school, and high school all in Kansas. When he graduated from high school in 1966, he attended undergraduate college in Anderson, Indiana at Anderson University, graduating in 1970. He continued his education at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences College of Osteopathic Medicine and graduated in 1975 with his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree.

At a young age, Dr. Merle decided that he wanted to become a doctor – though it was through tragic circumstances. While in the second grade, he discovered a young mother next door, who lived in his same neighborhood, had taken her own life. The thought entered his mind, “If I had known what to do, I could have saved her.” Through this neighborhood tragedy, he was determined to one day become Dr. Turner so that he could help people through the various stages of mental and physical health.

After graduating medical school in 1975, he moved to Phoenix, Arizona and served a rotating internship at Phoenix General Hospital. While practicing at Lakes Family Practice, he served as Chairman of the Department of Family Medicine at Tempe St. Luke’s Hospital. After becoming Warner Family Practice in 1983, he served as the President of the Medical Staff at Tempe St. Luke’s from 1986 until 1987.

A member of the American Osteopathic Association, he is board-certified in family practice and osteopathic manipulative medicine by the American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians (AOBFP). The AOBFP is an organization that provides board certification to qualified osteopathic physicians who specialize in delivering comprehensive primary care for patients of all ages, genders, and addressing all parts of the body.

Licensed to practice medicine in Arizona, Dr. Turner is affiliated with Banner Desert Medical Center, Chandler Regional Medical Center, and Banner Baywood Medical Center.

Family medicine is a medical specialty devoted to comprehensive health care for people of all ages. The specialist is called a family physician or family doctor. A family physician is often the first person a patient sees when seeking healthcare services. They examine and treat patients with a wide range of conditions and refer those with serious ailments to a specialist or appropriate facility. 

On a more personal note, Dr. Turner lives in Chandler with his wife (and business co-founder, Susan). Together, they enjoy opportunities to travel to new and favorite places throughout the world. They have three children and three grandchildren.

Some of the ways Dr. Turner enjoys spending his time outside of the office are fishing and taking in all sorts of sports (big time avid sports fan).

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