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Non-profit Donates to Mountain Hope

by NewsworthyVolunteers

TMC PicLots of companies come to Sevier County for corporate retreats — but they don’t usually get involved with helping locals maintain good health.

Therapy Management Corp. (TMC), based in Homosassa, Fla., is the exception. Through its non-profit arm, Together Making Changes, the business donated $1,094 to the Clinic when its middle management team gathered in Sevier County last month for a working retreat.

Whenever Therapy Management Corp. has a retreat, Together Making Changes does something to improve the area where the retreat is held. TMC Area Manager Kenneth Eaton and a colleague toured the clinic and made gift towards the healthcare of local patients. They also gave much-needed useful items to the Clinic, including a hand-held vacuum, paint brushes and disposable paint kits, electrical outlet strips, cleaning sponges, rakes and brooms. The Clinic’s kitchen gained paper plates, napkins, paper towels and coffee.

Together Making Changes is a tax-exempt 501 (c) (3) organization funded through Therapy Management employees’ time, talent and treasure. It’s focused on supporting initiatives of interest to TMC’s team members, and on positive health, educational, spiritual and financial outcomes in local communities. For example, this year the employees have decided to support the Wounded Warrior project among other initiatives.

TMC’s therapists and other staff provide contract and outpatient therapy services throughout the United States.

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Meet Dr. George Kirkpatrick

by Uncategorized

Dr. KDr. George Kirkpatrick sees Mountain Hope Good Shepherd Clinic as a good deal for patients – and for him, too.

In contrast to his years of hectic emergency room work, the Clinic’s newest doctor loves having the luxury of time to talk to patients and to hear about all their ailments. That extra time benefits patients, too, he says. Unlike in an ER, at the Clinic “Patients see doctors and nurse practitioners who have time to see what’s bothering them,” Dr. Kirkpatrick said.

“From the patients’ perspective, this place rocks,” he said. It’s cheaper than most doctor’s offices; Clinic referrals to specialists are often less expensive; common medications cost less at the pharmacy, and patients are given time to explain their health problems.

Dr. Kirkpatrick was trained in comprehensive care and appreciates having time to spend with patients. “It’s so good for me,” he said.

He grew up in Western Pennsylvania. After high school he attended the Air Force Academy, but after two years decided that life was not for him and switched to the prestigious Johns Hopkins University. He sold knives from door to door to pay for it, he said. He then studied at Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia (now part of Drexel University).

While he was completing his residency in Muncie, Ind. he earned his master’s degree in teaching. Later he moved to Chattanooga and practiced medicine in Athens, Tenn. for 15 years. In total, he has practiced medicine for more than 40 years.

He used his teaching qualifications by becoming an associate professor of family medicine in Chattanooga while working in Athens. Later he moved to Mobile, Ala. where he taught at the University of Southern Alabama. In Mobile, he switched to emergency room work, and it was there he met Gail Steele, who– years later– would later tell him about Mountain Hope Clinic, where she began to work one day weekly after her retirement.

He and his wife, Wanda, have moved to the Richardson’s Cove area. They have long wanted to live in this area, he said.  For the past three months, he has worked on Mondays and Fridays at the Clinic and continues his emergency room work in Mobile two days a week, twice a month.

The couple has eight adult children from previous marriages and six grandchildren between them. Dr. Kirkpatrick’s hobbies include saltwater fish, gardening and flowers.

His decision to practice at the Clinic and live in Sevier County has been “The best move I made in a long time,” he said.

 

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Mary Vance Receives Eloise Q. Hatmaker Award

by Newsworthy

Mary-Vance-2-(1)The Eloise Q. Hatmaker Award recognizes an individual who has contributed outstanding service to the Rural Health Association of Tennessee and rural health over a period of years. Eloise Q. Hatmaker was instrumental in the establishment of the State Office of Rural Health. As its first director, Ms. Hatmaker worked toward alleviating health workforce shortages in rural areas and also helped establish the Rural Health Association of Tennessee.

Mary Vance is the Executive Director of the Mountain Hope Good Shepherd Clinic and was instrumental in its development. Although the clinic is not located in a rural area of Sevier County, patients come from the rural corners of the county as well as other adjacent rural counties.  Ms. Vance is known for always having had a deep passion for all issues concerning rural health and access to care for patients. In addition to her position at Mountain Hope, Mary has held the chair position on the Rural Health Association of Tennessee’s Legislative and Policy Committee and is currently the Chair of the East Tennessee Regional Health Council which represents 15 counties in East Tennessee. She has and continues to guide policy positions which support rural healthcare for the state of Tennessee and has been instrumental in the formation of the Tennessee Charitable Care Network (TCCN).  Mary Vance is committed to the vision of a strong, compassionate health care safety net for all Tennesseans in need. A founding board member, she currently serves on the TCCN Board of Directors and as the Chair of the TCCN Public Policy Committee. In this role, she is a tireless advocate for the uninsured and underserved all across Tennessee.

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Pirates’ Ball Costume Contest Set

by EventsFundraisers

Now listen here, me hearties! It’s time for you landlubbers to start thinking what you’ll wear to the Pirates Ball on May 12.

Whether you’re a knavish pirate or a wench, you could come in your everyday clothes, of course. But this year the Pirates Ball will feature a costume contest with prizes. Start begging, borrowing or, in true pirate fashion, stealing your finery so you can be judged most splendid.

Pirate's Ball at Ripley's Aquarium of the SmokiesJudges will be Cody Ratliff, costume designer for Country Tonite Theater in Pigeon Forge and designsbycody.com; Summer Blalock-Wilson, a former Mrs. Tennessee; and Ryan DeSear, Regional Manager of Ripley Entertainment. The Aquarium will provide the spectacular background for the event, which offers an evening of live music, dancing, wonderful food, a treasure hunt, fun happenings and the costume contest. Naturally, guests may also examine the incredible assortment of sea life, from sharks to stingrays, sea urchins and seahorses that inhabit the aquarium.

The Ball begins at 6:30 p.m. with a door prize of a flat-screen TV.

All proceeds benefit Mountain Hope Good Shepherd Clinic, which provides medical and dental care to Sevier County residents and employees with no health insurance.  “Attending the Pirates Ball is a great way to have fun and support the Clinic at the same time,” said Ashley Burnette Justice, Director of Fund Development for the Clinic.

Tickets are $50 for adults and $10 for children 12 and younger. They may be obtained by calling the Clinic at 865-774-7684 or visiting mountainhope.org.

Mountain Hope Good Shepherd Clinic provides quality medical and dental care at reasonable cost to Sevier County’s uninsured population. It currently has more than 21,000 people on its rolls.

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Thank You: Free Physicals Event at Mountain Hope, Jan. 2015

by EventsNews You Can Use

Mountain Hope Good Shepherd Clinic bustled with activity Jan. 13 and 14 as 134 people, many of them new patients, underwent comprehensive health testing during the Clinic’s days of free physicals for patients with no health insurance.

As a result, all of the 134 have a clearer idea of their health and are on their way to tackling associated issues. Many were new patients to the Clinic, who now have easy access to appointments with medical professionals whenever the need arises.

Such intensive physical exams for so many people in such a short time require the cooperation of many individuals. Students from East Tennessee State University’s James H. Quillen College of Medicine conducted the exams, supervised by their preceptors. Our thanks go out to all ETSU faculty and staff involved.

Our own Clinic volunteers were led by Dr. Richard Dew, our medical director, and Dr. Bob Valosik. Other volunteers, who helped on a variety of fronts from conducting medical tests to handling paperwork and assisting our paid staff with patients, were Jackie Burk, Connie Carden, Kitty Coykendall, Anna Garber, Jim Kayon, Emma Kepka, Trudi Lodge, Jennifer Love, Barbara McGill, Carol Pierce-Burr and Jerry Sandifer.

Sevier County Health Department staff gave immunization shots for TDAP and flu.

All those involved worked seamlessly together and were rewarded by delicious lunches provided by two local businesses, thanks to Robin Reagan of Tennessee State Bank and Rebecca Mazzei of Dick’s Last Resort.

Oak Tree Lodge very kindly provided overnight lodging for the ETSU contingent.

We are indebted to everyone who worked to make this such a successful event, including The Mountain Press for publicizing it.

Mountain Hope Good Shepherd Clinic provides quality medical and dental care at low cost to Sevier County residents and employees who have no health insurance. The Clinic, at 312 Prince Street, Sevierville, currently has more than 21,000 people on its rolls. For more information, visit www.mountainhopeclinic.org. Another free health fair will be held in the summer.

Sincerely,

Ashley Burnette Justice

Director of Fund Development