ADVOCACY ON THE AIR: Dr. Smith is a trusted voice on Hoke’s hometown AM radio station, WFMA 1400. She’s pictured her with station owner and broadcaster, the William Hollingsworth family.
preceptor in the rural health program. “This area has a rich history in terms of medicine, but growing our provider base is extremely important,” said Dr. Smith.
Integrative, Culturally-Sensitive & High-Tech Rural Care An often unspoken challenge in rural health delivery is serving patients whose needs may include behavioral care or counseling with lifestyle issues that affect health. Dr. Smith delivers integrative and culturally-sensitive care to her patients, and promotes the same approach through her involvement with several community efforts. It’s all in support of her personal and practice motto: The Power of Touch: Spiritual, Physical, and Emotional. According to Dr. Smith, in the course of a day, she often serves patients who need a caring ‘touch’. This could be a simple hand on the shoulder, a heartfelt re-assurance, or uplifting words. Providing these connection
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to her patients -- and within her community -- is what drives her every day. “When you are all together with a physical, spiritual, and emotional touch, then we can get to where you are trying to go to.” Day to day, Dr. Smith serves patients in an independent practice she founded in Raeford in 2004. Smith invested heavily into the community by constructing a state-of the-art building in 2005. Her practice and facility established her as one of Hoke County’s most important health providers, and earned her a national reputation as a leading proponent of health technology in primary care. Today, Dr. Smith’s investments continue to pay dividends through improved quality, increased efficiency, streamlined patient communication, and more effective population health management. Outside her practice, Dr. Smith’s community work is just as progressive. She’s a tireless volunteer, leader and advocate with several community-based programs. This ex-
THE NORTH CAROLINA FAMILY PHYSICIAN • Winter 2016
tends her reach and improves the lives of her neighbors. For example, Dr. Smith serves as the volunteer Medical Director for the Cape Fear Regional Bureau for Community Action (CFRBC). CFRBC’s Chief Executive Officer Ashley Rozier, II, noted that her commitment to serving a wide range of underserved and marginalized populations is what sets her apart. “Dr Smith is an amazing doctor who serves everyone -- even the folks struggling with issues that we don’t typically like to talk about in a rural community,” Rozier explained. “It’s somewhat rare in a rural community and that’s what makes the difference in closing the disparity gaps that exist. She has made Hoke County a far healthier and better place to live.” Mr. Rozier went on to credit Dr. Smith in playing an instrumental role in helping CFRBC receive the Norton Group Award by the North Carolina Public Health Association last fall. The award recognizes public health organizations making lasting impacts in their communities. It was a major win. Smith also contributes her time and talents to the Tia Hart Community Recovery Program, an organization seeking to close critical human service gaps in Hoke and Cumberland counties. The program helps people with substance abuse issues, provides food distribution to the area’s needy, and works with wayward youth delivering after school programs and guidance. Program founder Shirley Hart estimates the program touches more than four thousand annually. For Dr. Smith, programs like Tia Hart are critical -- even potentially as important as good medicine. “We can do all we want in a medical office, but programs like these -- providing food and shelter -- are what keep people alive.” Another unique way Dr. Smith contributes is by acting as a familiar and trusted voice on the community’s local AM radio station, WFMA 1400, owned by the William Hollingsworth family. Smith is keenly aware of the power of radio, especially in a rural community where many older citizens rely on it as a information source. “Seeing what I do in clinic, the question becomes how can we get out into the community and start talking about important health issues,” described Smith. “But it’s a little more than that.” She went on to describe that in last November’s elections, she worked with the station to encourage people to vote as a means to affect healthcare change was a big success. “If you’re complaining about your healthcare insurance going up or you don’t have any and are sick, you need to go and vote to affect the change.” All of Dr. Smith’s work towards improving