A Saturday in Sneedville

Dr.Michele?

This was taken in Smyrna after a long day of preceptoring

Sneedville: home of mussels, Melungeons, and where I spent the majority of my Saturday with Rural Track personnel. I must confess that I wasn't overjoyed to give up my one day to sleep in to drive 80 miles to the poorest community in Tennessee to see the opening of the hospital. However, the trip was well worth the drive and lost sleep. I thought knew what the term "rural" meant before journeying to Sneedville, after all don't all of us Tennesseans run around barefoot and chewing tobacco and saying words like "y'all" and "aint?" I was greatly mistaken. After we drove through Rogersville, the road narrowed to two lanes traversing a countryside of trailer homes and cows. As the ETSU university cars begin to ascend Clinch Mountain, I felt like I was back in Honduras driving over the mountain to Orica and Montaña de la Flor. The road switchbacked up the side of the mountain and below was poverty spread out to the horizon in the form of small farms and rundown houses. The scene reminded me of one of the "Feed the Children" commercials about Appalachia that used to run on Sunday mornings after church.
Our first few hours consisted of meeting with the Mayor of Sneedville, the county clerk, and Congressman Jenkins, key players in acquiring the approval of building a new hospital. Both the county clerk and mayor of Sneedville were of Melungeon descent, and both had gone to college and obtained an EdD. Poverty and isolation seem to breed the same characteristics in every community: a sense of dispair, a lack of vision, a lack of education, yet a wealth in the form of relationships and a strong sense of community. As the men told us of how the old hospital closed 12 years ago and about the town of Sneedville, I saw all these characteristics, and I admired the mayor, the county clerk, and all others who had fought to build a new hospital for having determination and vision.
Their stories impressed upon me the important role a physician plays in a rural community and how much of a difference a doctor can make. It frustrates me to no end to see students pursue a career in medicine solely for the monetary value and prestige of holding the title of MD. There are much easier ways of earning such salaries without having to put in the grueling hours of studying or the long years of schooling. Do they not realize that what they do is not just a 9-5 job but that their decisions will not only affect the patients' lives, but also their families' lives and maybe their community as well? And it is this I love most about rural medicine, whether it be in Latin America or in Hawkins County, Tennessee, the ability to make a difference in someone's life. Not only does a rural physician prescribe medicines for minor infections, but a physician may also save the life of a mother seriously injured in an MVA so that she might raise her children to pursue an education such as an EdD when she would have died had there not been a physician in the community.
At 2pm, all of the Rural Track students, myself included, attended the landmark opening of the new 12 bed hospital in Sneedville, Tennessee. Almost the entire community showed up to partake in the grand opening. Everyone from the young pregnant mother to the old, toothless gentleman in the bib overalls wearing a "Vote for Congressman Jenkins" hat was present. You would have thought the State Fair had arrived or some well-known rock group instead of the local gospel trio singing in what will soon be the reception area. As a favor to Wellmont and part of our research, we conducted a survey asking two questions to those present, "What do you think is the greatest healthcare need in Hancock County?" and "How will the opening of the hospital affect your use of healthcare services?" With broad smiles many answered the first question with, "Well, I think we already have the answer to the question; we got the hospital now didn't we?" Many responded to the second question by saying, "I won't have to find a ride over the mountain to go into Rogersville or Morristown an hour away just to see a doc."
Not only was a hospital opened today in a little community that many have never visited, but also hope was given to a people without much hope, hope that an elderly lady won't have to live in fear of dying of a heart attack because the nearest hospital is an hour away, hope that their children can seek immediate treatment for a broken bone, and hope that someone actually cares about Sneedville and its people. Furthermore, one medical student went away with a greater appreciation and understanding of community, small town life, and the impact that healthcare can have in a rural community. If the Latin America missions thing doesn't work out, I think I might just find me a holler back up in 'dem hills of Tennersee and open me a practice there.