Forty Under 40: Kendall Wagner

Kendall Wagner felt called to medicine in sixth grade when he lost a close friend to cystic fibrosis. His sister then successfully underwent surgery for a brain tumor. Wagner began to study medical terms and read the New England Journal of Medicine while still in middle school.

“I’ve truly felt medicine is a calling on my life, and I don’t know that I could be happy doing anything else,” said Wagner, who was the first in his family to attend college and now practices pediatrics and internal medicine in Fort Smith.

Relationships are paramount to Wagner, primarily his relationship with Jesus. He chose pediatrics as it allows him to form lasting relationships with patients and their families.

He is described as kind, quick to listen, and compassionate by patients and staff.

“The clinical encounter is not just my job. It’s to touch a life,” he said.

Wagner completed his medical training at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and his residencies at UAMS and Arkansas Children’s Hospital. He served as chief resident at both. He joined Mercy in 2014.

Wagner serves on the boards of Mercy Clinic-Fort Smith Communities and Harvest Time Academy, where his two children attend. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he has thus maintained leadership roles in both medicine and education.

He kept his clinic open by visiting with patients outside or bringing them inside the office individually, he said. He likes offering more telemedicine so parents can take less time off work for appointments.

“I think it’s made us better,” he said. “We don’t grow when we’re not in adverse situations. We have become more adaptable and learned new ways of doing things.”