Philosophies/Evolving Concepts

Underlying the SHC was a set of values, perspectives, and priorities about how health care should be delivered in a rural setting, how communities should be involved in their own care and development, and how a just society might be created. This patchwork philosophy of social change was neither fully formed nor entirely embraced by every SHC participant. It also changed over time, as each summer brought a new crop of students and professionals. But most participants, health workers, and community workers alike understood that the SHC’s approach to community-based health care represented a radical departure from the status quo. Most endorsed the core concepts behind the SHC’s attempts to reinvent primary health care, organize for community power, and expand the boundaries of professional practice. (More on this underlying philosophy can be found under THEMES.)

Bill Dow as a community organizer in Appalachia

Maureen O’Connell and Charles “Boomer” Winfrey reflect on Bill Dow’s character and personal philosophy about community organizing. They describe him as an other-oriented person driven by creative, actionable service and mutually respectful relationships best illustrated by his perception of and… Continued

Reflections on the SHC’s approach to community healthcare

Charles “Boomer” Winfrey and Maureen O’Connell consider what set the Student Health Coalition apart from other community development efforts in the Appalachian region of East Tennessee. Boomer focuses on the Coalition’s and SOCM’s value of community empowerment (by way of… Continued

Community reception of Student Health Coalition participants

Dal Macon shares how local communities perceived, received, and supported Student Health Coalition participants, as well as how their approach to relationship-building manifested. Link to full interview with Dal Macon. Continued

Was the Student Health Coalition radical? Dal Macon responds.

Dal Macon distinguishes the Student Health Coalition’s activism from other “radical” movements of the time. He expounds on the context of what it meant to be “radical”, how it was generally perceived, and why SHC participants didn’t identify as such… Continued

The focal role of listening in community organizing

Dal Macon highlights the Student Health Coalition’s emphasis on listening as the primary agent of sustainable, lasting community change. Solidifying its importance, Dal shares how this philosophy impacted his long-term relationship-building with community members and overall connection to the communities… Continued

Dal Macon’s introduction to Bill Dow and the Student Health Coalition

Dal Macon shares his first impressions of Bill Dow and what attracted him to the Student Health Coalition’s unique approach to community organizing. He frames the SHC and its work of rural healthcare delivery as a mission of listeners responding… Continued

Hearts of Gold

Brought to us by Margaret Ecker and others involved in its 2013 production, this special collection of insights from several Student Health Coalition figureheads in the 1970s features Bill Dow, Bill Corr, Carolyn Burr, Dal Macon, and Marie Cirillo–among many… Continued

Challenges facing nurse practitioners

Outside the old clinic building of what used to be Douglas Community Health Center, Margaret Ecker and Jean Carney discuss the multitude of challenges facing nurse practitioners and what legislative movement’s been made to overcome adversity of such restrictive practice.… Continued

Bob Hartmann on the importance of defining health beyond the physical

Bob Hartmann explains how his and many others’ formative experience in rural healthcare and community medicine with the Center for Health Services, Student Health Coalition, and Mountain People’s Health Councils—both as students and young professionals—left a lasting impact on their… 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

Ruth Ann Casper and Scheryl Stout on the Maternal-Infant Health Outreach Worker Project (MIHOW)

Ruth Ann Casper, a participant in the Maternal-Infant Health Outreach Worker Project (MIHOW), shares about the powerful impact of home visitors and their value as sources of emotional support and information during her first pregnancy. Scheryl Stout, a home visitor… Continued

Frances Henderson on the Center for Health Services’ approach to community development

Frances Henderson from the Service Training for Environmental Progress (STEP) discusses the relationship between environmental pollution and public health, sharing specifically about a nearby contaminated creek in Hendersonville, Tennessee which caused significant medical concerns among community members. She also shares… Continued

Tom John on the Student Health Coalition and community self-determination

Tom John, M.D. comments on his work with the Student Health Coalition in 1971. He shares that one of the most powerful takeaways from this learning experience was an introduction to and participation in the development of community health systems,… Continued

“What it took” – Nine nurses reconvene fifty years later and discover the power of common denominators

Nine nurses gathered in Nashville in May 2019 to reminisce about their beginnings as nurses. Nursing practice underwent radical changes in those days. These nine nurses stood apart from their peers, and in conflict with convention. Here, they discuss what… Continued

Nurse Practitioners, in the beginning…

Community leaders recognized early on the added value that expanded role nurses brought to the table. In this video clip, community leaders Marie Cirillo and Betty Anderson recollect their efforts to lobby for legal changes that would support expanded role nurses. Continued

The Origin Story: In the words of Bill Dow

Several years before he died, Bill Dow agreed to participate in recorded conversations about his farming philosophies, with the idea that he would use the recordings to compose a book about sustainable agriculture. He died in 2012, before the project… Continued