A Hospital for Ashe County - Four Generations of Appalachian Community Health Care

When Ashe County Memorial Hospital opened in November 1941, it was the realization of a dream for the poor, sparsely populated county in the mountains of northwestern North Carolina. Building a hospital is a major undertaking for any community at any time. Accomplishing this in the waning days of the Great Depression and on the brink of World War II, while scant local resources were taxed by catastrophic floods and severe snows, was a remarkable feat of community organization.
This is the story of the generations of supporters, doctors, nurses, emergency personnel and others whose lives are interwoven with regional health care and the planning, building and operation of (the "new") Ashe Memorial Hospital. This legacy, brought to life through 114 photographs and personal interviews with 97 individuals, traces the development of health care in a remote Appalachian community, from the days of folk remedies and midwives, to horseback doctors and early infirmaries, to the technological advances and outreach efforts of today's Ashe Memorial Hospital.

List of contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Old Ashe County Memorial Hospital-A Legacy

Preface

Introduction

1-Horseback Doctors

2-Early Health Care Resources

3-The Jones Memorial Infirmary at Lansing

4-Dr. Arthur Lee "Bud" Jones: First Generation of a Family Legacy

5-Medical Help from the Outside

6-Dr. Dean Jones, Sr.: Second Generation of a Family Legacy

7-Ashe County Memorial Hospital: The Dream

8-Ashe County Memorial Hospital, Inc.: The Reality

9-The Ashe Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees

10-The Hospital/Medical Staff Since 1941

Kate King Duncan Barker, R.N., Interview

Langdon L. Scott (Administrator/Business Manager)

Henry Lum; Ruby Lum Interviews

Betty Ball, R.N., Interview

Toby Younce Hartzog Interview

Doris Oliver, R.N., Interview

Christie "Chris" Phillips; Betty Avery Interview

Edith Brooks Blevins Interview

Ella Pennington Baldwin Interview

June Weaver Worth, R.N., Interview

Tom Cockerham (Administrator); Clairene Cockerham Interview

Jack McClure (Plant Operation) Interview

Joy McClure (Administration) Interview

Robert "Rob" H. Black (Plant Operation) Interview

Nancy P. Edwards, R.N., Interview

Sue Hampton, R.N., Interview

Judy Davis Interview

Elam S. Kurtz, M.D.; Kevin, Orpah and Michael Kurtz Interviews

Ann Day Brown (Administration) Interview

Mary Lou Brooks (Business Office) Interview

Cindy Brooks Baucom (Administration) Interview

Pat Bare Cooper (Business Office) Interview

Polly Osowitt, R.N., and Elliott Osowitt Interviews

Tammy Lum Thore, M.D., and Joe F. Thore Interviews

Charlotte Caddell Thompson, R.N., Interview

11-Dr. Dean C. "Doc" Jones, Jr.: Third Generation of a Family Legacy

Donald D. McNeill, M.D., Interview

Evelyn Price Jones Interviews

12-The Role of Ashe County Practicing Physicians

13-Health Care in Ashe County Evolves

14-Ashe County's Model for Community Health Care

15-Dr. Charles W. Jones: Fourth Generation of a Family Legacy

Charles W. Jones, M.D., Interviews

Debra "Debbie" Eller Jones Interview

Phyllis Jones Yount Interview

David Lee Jones Interview

Thomas "Tommy" Mitchell Jones Interview

Leigh Bradley, M.D., Interview

Linda Noel Jones Patterson Interview

16-Changes in AMH Management and Services

Laura Lambeth, R.N., B.S.N., Interview

Kathy Gilley Lovette, R.T., Interview

Jimmy Hendrix Interview

Calvin and Katrina Miller Interviews

17-Changes in Appalachian Community Health Care

Ruby B. Ashley Interview

Kada Owen McNeill Interview

Emmett Barker Interview

Beulah Barker McVey Interviews

Anne Shoemaker McGuire Interview

Stephen Shoemaker Interview

Betsy Gant Interview

18-A Legacy

Chapter Notes

Bibliography and Sources

Index

About the author

Janet C. Pittard began her writing career after retiring from the North Carolina Governor's Office with thirty years of service. She is the author of two books and more than 100 articles for Our State Magazine. She lives in Raleigh and West Jefferson, North Carolina.

Product details

• Authors: Janet C. Pittard
• Publisher: McFarland
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 04.04.2019
• EAN: 9781476668000
• ISBN: 978-1-4766-6800-0
• No. of pages: 274
• Dimensions: 178 mm x 254 mm x 15 mm
• Weight: 521 g
• Series: Contributions to Southern Appalachian Studies
• Subject: Guides > Health