Professional nursing underwent a cataclysm of change during the active years of the Student Health Coalition. From the beginning, students in the Coalition nurtured those changes. Often, without even a plan or much in the way of self-awareness, certainly without a political agenda, at least at first, young nurses and nursing students who joined the Coalition embraced their mission to build a practice based on the needs of the communities. Their embrace often brought them up against opposition from existing health care culture and state and federal law. Eventually, nurses, alongside their medical, legal, and community partners, became powerful spokespeople for community health needs, including the need to expand existing nurse practice paradigms.
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Tom John on the Student Health Coalition and community self-determination
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Welmoet Spreij
Contributed by Welmoet Spreij, Amsterdam, 2017. I came to Nashville as a Dutch exchange-student in the fall of 1969 and took some classes at Vanderbilt University. While attending a course in philosophy, I came to know John Davis, Dick Burr,… Continued
Diane Lauver
Contributed by Diane Lauver, February 2018 Growing up, I was close to my paternal grandparents; they lived in a pastoral valley looking at Appalachian hills in a northern state. With their 8th grade educations and practical wisdom, they taught me… Continued
Sally Kimberly’s take on patient education in rural healthcare
Sally Kimberly discusses clinical challenges during her time as a nurse practitioner with Mountain People’s Health Councils in Norma, Tennessee, focusing specifically on the indispensable role of patient education in effective rural healthcare. Full footage of Sally Kimberly’s interview with Rick Davidson. Continued
“What it took” – Nine nurses reconvene fifty years later and discover the power of common denominators
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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, Tennessee. Full footage of Sally Kimberly’s interview with Rick Davidson. Continued
Cathy Barrow Heck and Jeff Heck
Contributed by Cathy Barrow Heck I was absolutely sold on the Appalachian Student Health Coalition upon seeing the video as a nursing student in the fall of 1973. The idea of a team of students working in partnership with rural… Continued
Sally Kimberly on becoming a nurse midwife
Sally Kimberly traces her personal development in the medical field and shares what inspired her to become a practicing nurse and midwife with the National Health Service Corps and Mountain People’s Health Councils in Scotty County, Tennessee, 1974-1982. Full… Continued
Dana Ellis: Personal reflections
In this video clip, Dana Ellis reflects on her personal experiences as a student nurse working with community leaders in rural West Tennessee back in the early 1970s and how that work affected her career and her life. Continued
Article: “Health Care for those off the beaten path,” from the Tennessee Valley Authority
Kollar, Robert. “Health care for those off the beaten path.” Tennessee Valley Authority, post-1975. View PDF. More on the Tennessee Valley Authority: Continued
Sally Kimberly on MPHC community boards
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Margaret Ecker on her inspiration to pursue nursing
Margaret Ecker shares about early career pursuits and explains how the Student Health Coalition played a prominent role in steering her toward a life of service through nursing. Recorded June 2nd, 2018. Full footage of the conversation between Barbara… Continued
Minnie Bommer on racially charged employment discrimination and her journey to nursing career
Minnie Bommer shares her tumultuous experience at the outset of her nursing career, detailing the extent of racially biased obstacles intended to bar her from hire at hospitals in Tipton County, Tennessee. Recorded June 1st, 2018. Full footage of… Continued
Martha Stucker
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Pete Moss reflects
On training nurses, reuniting with fellow Coalitioners, and being a non-conformist. Learn more about Pete Moss on his profile page. Continued
Richard Davidson
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Margaret Ecker
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J. Thomas “Tom” John
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Caryl Carpenter talks about the origins of the Tennessee Primary Care Association
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Ann Baile Hamric
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Bill Dow
Bill Dow co-founded the Student Health Coalition while in medical school at Vanderbilt University, in 1969. His larger-than-life role in the SHC origin story and beyond warrants special telling, which we attempt in the essay that follows. Contributed by Margaret… Continued
How the perception of nurse practitioners and midwives has changed over time
Rick Davidson asks Sally Kimberly to reflect on how the role and societal perception of nurse practitioners and midwives has evolved—from the time she first became certified in the early 1970s to present day. She celebrates that the profession has… Continued
Pete Moss
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How to do followup after a health fair
Ann Baile Hamric on continuing care, local resources, and navigating through Appalachia. Continued
Article: “Health Fair Attracts 1,080 Here,” from the Grundy County Herald
Click image to enlarge. More on Grundy County: Continued
Carolyn Burr reflects
In this clip, Burr reflects on how the experience of working with the Coalition shaped her values and future career in nursing. Recorded at a 2013 Student Health Coalition reunion in Nashville, Tennessee. Continued
The Smithville Story
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Dana Ellis
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Sally Kimberly on the professional development of nurses with MPHC
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Nurse Practitioners, in the beginning…
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Rebecca Joffrion Ingle
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Lewis Lefkowitz recalls the legacy of Marie Cirillo and impact of local nurses
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A conversation with Martha Stucker
Martha Stucker shares about her time working in the mountains from 1968-1972, and explains her role as a nurse practitioner focused on meeting community needs. Continued
Becca Ingle on the Student Health Coalition and community healthcare
Becca Ingle, R.N., F.N.P. shares about her experience with the Student Health Coalition in the summer of 1974 and discusses its profound influence on later becoming a nurse practitioner. She also explains how the organization facilitated a shift in her… Continued
Minnie Bommer’s encounter with hospital segregation
Having overcome the adversity of racially biased employment discrimination imposed upon her at the outset of her nursing career, Minnie Bommer shares also about the realities of healthcare inequities and segregation experienced post-hire at a hospital in Covington, Tennessee. Recorded… Continued