The Amarillo medical community is keeping us all on our toes.

The abrupt and immediate “resignation,” announced today, of Baptist St. Anthony’s head man John Hicks has medical complex observers buzzing. Hicks, the face and voice of BSA since its creation in 1996, had been a major player in Amarillo, becoming a significant presence on a number of boards and commissions; his most notable presence has been as a member of the Amarillo College Board of Regents. Hicks’ future, of course, remains notably unsettled at the moment.

But this is just the latest in a string of big news.

BSA and Northwest Texas Hospital pulled out of the Harrington Regional Medical Center Inc.; a group of former Amarillo Area Foundation presidents have taken HRMCI to task over its selling of land at the medical complex; NWTH has just announced plans to sell its ambulance service.

Overlaying all this is the intense national debate over health care reform and what it means for medical providers and consumers at communities all across the country — and surely includes Amarillo and the rest of the Panhandle.

Hang on tightly. The ride at the medical center is bound to get a little bumpy.