Mountain People’s Health Councils, Inc. (MPHC) was incorporated in September of 1973, bringing together three communities in Tennessee that hosted Vanderbilt Student Health Coalition (SHC) health fairs, organized and incorporated local health councils, and opened health clinics. The three communities were Norma (Scott County), Petros (Morgan County), and Stoney Fork (Campbell County).
The clinics started seeing patients in 1974, with a full-time nurse practitioner at each clinic and a circuit-riding physician. The first physician was Rick Davidson, who volunteered with the SHC when he was a medical student. Other SHC volunteers who worked at MPHC over the years were Bill Dow, Wanda Lang, Bob Hartmann, and Trish Woodall. MPHC received support from the National Health Service Corps, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), and Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act, also known as Rural Health Initiatives, along with small foundation grants.
Forty-six years later, Mountain People’s is alive and well. It was not always smooth sailing. The clinics in Petros and Stoney Fork have closed, and the Norma clinic was closed for a period of time. Today MPHC is based entirely in Scott County, with five clinics that provide a comprehensive range of services, including dental and mental health. The five locations are Norma, Elgin, Huntsville, Oneida, and Winfield. Mountain People’s now serves over 50 percent of the population in Scott County. In 2018, MPHC was named as one of the Top Ten federally-qualified health centers (FQHCs) in the nation in terms of their quality of care scores.
This section of the SHC website tells the story of Mountain People’s Health Councils, Inc. from the health fairs in the 1970s to the creation of MPHC to the success that this SHC legacy is today. There is a section for each of the original clinics in Norma, Petros, and Stoney Fork. A brief history of each clinic is combined with links to health fair documents and photos from the Center for Health Services (CHS) at Vanderbilt, incorporation documents for each clinic, interviews with board members and clinicians, and photos from various collections in the Southern Historical Collection archives at UNC-Chapel Hill. The individual stories of Norma, Petros, and Stoney Fork are followed by a section about Mountain People’s today, including information about their locations and services, sources of funding, and performance as a FQHC. Interviews with the current CEO and MPHC Board of Directors are included. The final section is Lessons Learned. Various participants in the Mountain People’s story will share their perspectives about the challenges and successes that made MPHC an enduring legacy of the Student Health Coalition.
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Reflections on the level of care at SHC health fairs
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Sally Kimberly’s first observations of rural community healthcare with MPHC
Sally Kimberly discusses her preparation for practice and early experiences with Mountain People’s Health Councils (MPHC) at the clinic in Norma, Tenn. Full footage of Sally Kimberly’s interview with Rick Davidson. Continued
Caryl Carpenter talks about the origins of the Tennessee Primary Care Association
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Bob Hartmann
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Key players in the health fair and early days of the clinic in Petros, Tenn.
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Caryl Carpenter talks about her experiences with Mountain People’s Health Councils
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Formation of Mountain Peoples Health Council (MPHC)
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James Lovett’s childhood experience at the Norma Health Fair
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Rick Davidson on what led him to work in the mountains with the Coalition
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“We had to work with one hand and fight with the other”
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The Bradleys move to Wartburg, Tenn.
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Sally Kimberly’s take on patient education in rural healthcare
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Bob Hartmann on the importance of defining health beyond the physical
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Caryl Carpenter on community leader Odes McKamey
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Progression of black lung care toward government-funded clinics, 1973
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Tom John on the origin of his participation with the SHC and its community-oriented focus
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Caryl Carpenter discusses the challenges with the structure of Mountain People’s Health Councils
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On the Petros Clinic’s connection to Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary
Kate Bradley briefly discusses the Petros Clinic’s connection to Brushy Mountain Prison and recalls her memory of James Earl Ray’s escape. Follow this link for access to the full-length interview. Recorded October 2017 in Wartburg, Tenn. Continued
Article: “Health Care for those off the beaten path,” from the Tennessee Valley Authority
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Sally Kimberly on the professional development of nurses with MPHC
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Sally Kimberly on MPHC community boards
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Bob Hartmann on Appalachian culture and rural healthcare
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Bob Hartmann on the influence of cultural understandings about death and healing
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Kate Bradley on a problematic provider’s attempt to take over the clinic in Petros
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Rick Davidson talks about a local healer in the Stoney Fork community
Richard Davidson M.D., M.P.H., recalls his interactions with a local healer in the community of Stoney Fork, Tenn., while serving as the first physician for Mountain People’s Health Councils (MPHC), a consortium of health clinics originally formed by the communities… Continued
Bob Hartmann on community medicine in Stoney Fork, TN
Bob Hartmann shares an inside look at the culture and people of Stoney Fork, Tenn., a fascinating anecdote which captures the realities of rural healthcare and community medicine. Full footage of Bob Hartmann’s interview with Rick Davidson. Continued
The Legacy of the Norma (Tenn.) Health Clinic
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On the Bradley’s motivation to organize a community clinic in Petros, Tenn.
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Richard Davidson Photograph Collection, Southern Historical Collection, UNC Chapel Hill
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Richard Davidson
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More on local opposition to the Petros Clinic
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Pat Kalmans
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Bill Dow
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Notes from the road: Mountain People’s Health Councils
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On the sense of community
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Rick Davidson on connecting with local communities through music
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Bob Hartmann on the National Health Service Corps and its role in his development as a young doctor
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The role of themes and tendrils in packaging the Coalition narrative
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Sally Kimberly and Rick Davidson on the generosity of local surgeons
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Post-health fair formation of community councils and the origins of MPHC in Tennessee
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Tom John and Rick Davidson on their ongoing connections with community members
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MPHC: rural health clinic or federally qualified community health center?
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Overcoming adversity from Morgan County
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Caryl Carpenter Papers on Mountain People’s Health Councils, East Tennessee clinics, and Student Health Coalition Photographs, Southern Historical Collection, UNC Chapel Hill
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James Lovett
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On closing the Petros Clinic
Kate and J.W. Bradley share about their decision to close the Petros Clinic amidst ongoing, relentless threats from Dr. Chester Caster and the community. Follow this link for access to the full-length interview. Recorded October 2017 in Wartburg, Tenn. Continued
Memories from the mountains
Tom John and Rick Davidson share some of their most memorable moments and takeaways from their time spent in Appalachia with the Student Health Coalition. Full footage of the 2013 interview with Tom John and Rick Davidson. Continued
Student Health Coalition Project Collection, Southern Historical Collection, UNC Chapel Hill
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On John Kennedy’s management of UMW’s Black Lung Treatment Programs, Kentucky and Tennessee
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On the Petros Health Council’s response to altercation with Dr. Chester Caster
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