YOUR COMMUNITY PARTNER
DR. RAY WHITE
DR. RAY WHITE Founder of Prohealth Community Health Center by Andrea Davis
Born and raised in Macon, Georgia, Dr. Ray White says he’s a country boy. Throughout his life he has moved a lot, mostly due to the Air Force and academia that lead to a Doctoral degree in Health Care Administration. He eventually ended up in Huntsville, Alabama, after he was recruited to run nursing homes there. He later purchased several nursing homes, the biggest one being in Nashville. He and his family moved to Brentwood and lived there for thirteen months, until he discovered Franklin was more of his kind of town. He says he found good country cooking at a Red Food Store. He ended up being there for two hours because so many people stopped to talk to him. After that, he knew he wanted to stay. In March of 1996, Dr. Ray White opened Prohealth Community Health Center in Franklin, as a family charity. Healthcare was significantly changing in the 90’s, and White saw a need to help the uninsured and underinsured population of Williamson County. He had no intention of keeping Prohealth this long, but he realized that the not for profit arena was his mission. Because of the median income of Franklin, Prohealth has been unable to receive federal funding. Instead, it is a Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike, which is a health center that meets the definition of Federally Qualified Health Center but does not receive grant funding under the Health Center Program. Dr. White operates out of pocket and with any local help he can get. “My philosophy is take care of the people first and worry about the money later,” White said. “We’re doing better than we deserve. We’re here because we are blessed. “ Prohealth has gone from primary healthcare to adding mental health, dental and an outreach program, where they go to others who will not come in on their own. For example,
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they go to housing authorities, churches and schools. For the schools, they have a well-child program to make sure kids get the care they need. In all of these situations, they do not just do health screening. Actual care is provided. The outreach program is very active. Prohealth has collaborative agreements with Graceworks and some homeless organizations. “Our first effort is on prevention,” White said. “That’s really where our head is.” They try to catch conditions, such as diabetes, obesity and addiction, before they happen. Preventive dentistry is also a focus, which is made possible by Dr. Felix Laurence, a dental medical doctor who came out of retirement to provide dental care at Prohealth. Dr. White’s current hope is to add optometry to the list of services. With all the services, Dr. White says they try to focus on medical conditions and put behavioral therapy in with the medicine. “Their behaviors are what got them to that place to start with,” White said. They are going to start having AA meetings and Suboxone therapy for individuals addicted to pain medication. They will be one of the few facilities that will make that service available to Tenn Care patients. Dr. White says he has seen a lot of changes in Franklin, but the same people have the same problems. He continues to provide care in Williamson County for that very reason. “I could do something else, but I’m having fun,” White said. “It’s a struggle, but at the end of the day, I feel good about what I do. “ Prohealth services are provided to Davidson and Maury County residents, as well. For more information, go to www.phrhs.com.