Success Story as told by Katie Lowry, MD: 
"Hendersonville Pediatrics"

Katie Lowry, MD, is Past President of the NCMS Foundation Board of Trustees. In 2021 she visited Hendersonville Pediatrics, a practice that has benefited from one of the Foundation's longest running initiatives: the Community Practitioner Program. Here is what Dr. Lowry discovered...

The Community Practitioner Program (CPP) has had a long relationship with this practice dating back to 1998, when Veresa Meyers, MD, joined the practice and entered the Program. Since that time, CPP has placed three additional physicians in this bustling, rural practice. While all the physicians, the PA, the practice manager, and the support team are outstanding, the person who stood out during this visit is Dr. Myers.

When I arrived, I found her in a room filled with children’s books and comfy chairs for sharing a good story. Here, she and the father of a patient were being interviewed by a local news station about Jameson’s Joy, a foundation created after Jameson passed away in 2019. Dr. Myers was helping this grieving family spread the word about an initiative to give Jameson’s favorite book, Daddy Hug, to fathers of all newborns in the community, to encourage fathers to read with their children.

When the interview was over, Dr. Myers explained that the room was for the practices’ Reach Out and Read program where books are given to patients and families to read at home. She then invited me to the vegetable garden where kids pick veggies they’d like to try. I loved learning about all the great programs the practice is carrying out, but I was most touched by the special bond Dr. Meyers has with Jameson’s Dad. As we talked more, it became clear that she has a special bond with all her patients and their families as well as the Brevard community. This 4-foot 2-inch mini, but MIGHTY physician has had about 46,000 patient encounters in her 23 years with the practice. Think about it - 46,000 opportunities to care for children and their families. Not to mention the work she does in her church and other community organizations.

Now, take this story and multiply it by 440 clinicians supported by the Community Practitioner Program. I hope your heart is as full as mine! There is absolutely no doubt we can all be proud of the impact your Foundation is having on patients in rural and underserved communities who might not have a caring clinician in their hometown were it not for CPP.

Please consider supporting the NCMS Foundation's new annual fund, Destination Health, and see what else we can achieve on this journey to better health.

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