HEALING VOL. 7, ISSUE 3 | WINTER 2021
EDITOR’S NOTE
I became the Program Director of Our Jackson Home in February of 2020 — just a month before COVID-19 lockdowns would begin, I was dreaming about the future of this organization and the events we would hold. Suddenly, the future was a big question mark. What things would look like seemed to change month to month. The pandemic changed the way we live our lives and interact with our community in ways that we're still trying to understand. It also revealed the ways in which the health of us as individuals and as a community are intertwined, and how the definition of "healthy" communities and individuals is bound up in a variety of factors — for our minds and our bodies to be well, there's a web of conditions that can make or break us. A year and a half into the pandemic, I felt lost. The excitement I had begun with was wearing off after a year of constant adjustment. Maybe it was burnout, maybe it was a steady stream of change in my own life, maybe it was compounding effects of a year of pandemic living, but I had re-evaluate what it meant for me to be healthy. It meant peeling away some things and making room for the new. Just as I've been asking myself what it means for me to be truly healthy in all facets, there's a larger question working itself out in these pages: What does it mean for our community to be truly healthy? It's not something we'll answer overnight. Maybe the better question to ask is what we can do to heal our community and ourselves. Who are the people mending and repairing, and how do we join them?
C O U R T N E Y S E A R C Y, E D I T O R - I N - C H I E F
THE JOURNAL
A publication of Our Jackson Home Vol. 7, Issue 3: Healing Brought to you by theCO | www.attheco.com
editorial board
contributors
EDI TOR-I N-CHI EF DESI GNER
F E AT U RE D WRI T E RS
James E Cherry Trista Havner Darin Hollingsworth Grace Mullin Luke Pruett Lauren Smothers
Courtney Searcy COPY EDI TOR
Olivia Chin
contact
FEAT U RE D P H OTOGRAP H E RS WEBSI TE & BLOG
Tamara Reed Miller December Rain Hansen
ourjacksonhome.com PHONE & EMAI L
731.554.5555 courtney@attheco.com ADDRESS
541 Wiley Parker Road Jackson, TN 38301
POLI CY
Our Jackson Home: The Journal is a volunteer-created publication of Our Jackson Home brought to you by theCO and published three times a year. Our Jackson Home seeks to celebrate the people and the stories of the city we all love: Jackson, Tennessee. Perspectives are the opinions of their creators, not Our Jackson Home or theCO. All rights reserved.
contents 2 | E DITO R S NOTE
Defining Health Courtney Searcy 6 | STO RY
Moving to the Music Grace Mullin 13 | E SSAY
Gathering a Mental Health Toolkit Darin Hollingsworth 18 | R E A DING LI ST
Creating a Community of Curiosity and Care Lauren Smothers
2 2 | P HOTO ESSAY
The Healers Courtney Searcy 36 | STO RY
Be Okay
Courtney Searcy 42 | POEM
The Long Hauler James E Cherry
4 4 | HUB C ITY HUSTLER
Sabrina Blue Trista Havner 50 | STO RY
Knitted Together to Flourish Luke Pruett
56 | SP O N SOR SPOTLI GHT
The Future of Healthcare Technology in Jackson, Tennessee Master Medical Equipment
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6 • OUR JACKSON HOME
Moving to the Music BY GRACE MUL L I N P HOTOS BY COURT N EY SEA R CY
“We don’t like it to look too clinical,” remarked Chrissy Watson, board-certified Music Therapist at the STAR Center as she pulled out her guitar. The room’s lavender walls and smorgasbord of colorful instruments, complete with Watson’s warm guitar strums, banished any thought of the adjective “clinical”. Yet, this little room holds sessions where tangible healing takes place. Besides music therapy, the STAR Center offers a variety of services to people with disabilities including assistive technology, speech therapy, employment services, and homecare. From early childhood to senior adults, the STAR Center has resources for every stage of life. Music therapy is where music and healing meet. This is part of what drew Chrissy Watson towards her career. She grew up loving music, but typical careers for musicians, such as education and performance, did not appeal to Watson. She wanted to
help people with her profession, but was unsure of how that may manifest. When she happened upon an article about music therapy, it fit her giftings and interests to a tee. Her fascination for both neurology and music was a perfect match for the field. Music is not only an art form, but can be a powerful tool as well. Watson explains, “Music has just as much of a role in the session as I do. I’m just getting to manipulate those elements to have the desired effect.” Music therapy works because our brains are organized so that rhythm prompts movement. In a blog post entitled “Feel the Rhythm: How Music Affects Movement,” Chrissy Watson explains: “The areas of the brain that prime or prepare movement have direct pathways that easily recruit the auditory cortex, so every beat or rhythm we hear has a very easy and efficient path to cue movement.” This is why when we listen to music with a strong beat, our bodies dance,
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sometimes even subconsciously. This neurological reality is the basis for what Watson does. From stroke survivors to those with learning disabilities, music can provide a scaffolding for rehabilitation. One client Watson worked with was a jazz musician who lost responsiveness in his right arm because of a stroke. He opted to use hard rock in their sessions. They used ACDC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long,” which was something funny enough to make him smile, and familiar enough for him to jam out. The instrument they used was tambourine, because of its sensitivity. He could still move his shoulder, so he was able to manipulate his arm enough to shake the tambourine. Throughout their sessions, they gradually saw more
8 • OUR JACKSON HOME
activation in his right arm. These are similar exercises to those done in physical therapy, but the use of an instrument provides immediate audible feedback, encouraging more neural connection. For clients working on a movement goal, the incorporation of music provides an indicator for automatic coordination without over-explanation. Watson uses an arpeggiated harmonic structure to lead stroke patients working on balance in a sittingstanding movement. This involves an 8-beat pattern for sitting down and standing up. This intentional ascending and descending music pattern triggers the physical sequence of sitting and standing. Afterall, she explained, “Dance is just sequencing with a beat.”
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Similarly, she often implements a waltz rhythm to prompt shifting weight. This same concept transfers to a classroom setting. When Watson visits classes, she will often use either a straight or swing rhythm to impact the environment. To encourage engagement from the students, she might greet them with a bouncing straight strum of her guitar. However, if the students are full of energy but lacking focus, she might strum a more relaxed swing rhythm. Music affects us in ways we may not even be conscious of, whether it be enhancing engagement or triggering a physical response. One of Watson’s clients, Gina, entered the room as I interviewed Watson. The third-grader’s gregarious personality lit up the room. From her contagious smile, it was obvious she
loves going to therapy. Gina began speech therapy as a toddler, but only in the past few years began utilizing the services at the STAR center. Recently, she has been working with Watson on sequences and attention. Gina’s mother, Pam Coker, has observed progress not only verbally, but also socially. Gina greets everyone she sees at the STAR center. “It’s become our family,” Coker remarked. Music can be a catalyst for healing and a thread that knits a community together. It influences us in ways we may not realize. In her work at the STAR center, Watson unlocks music’s therapeutic potential, providing a new avenue for rehabilitation and growth in clients.
Music can be a catalyst for healing and a thread that knits a community together.
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12 • O U R J A C K S O N H O M E
Gathering a Mental Health Toolkit — before you need it! BY DA R I N HOL L I N G SWO RTH
What happens when you have worked all your life to build a coping skills toolkit and then the toolkit seems to disappear? Much of my adult life, I have managed my mental health – grief, depression, and anxiety – with a variety of tools. At times, the support and encouragement of good friends and family has been enough. Being attentive to my nutrition and physical health and fitness has been stabilizing. Sometimes the journey has required the assistance of professionals – various good therapists and medical providers who were adept in working with me to medicate when necessary or just help me stay committed to therapy. Additionally, I have read and studied some of the greatest teachers and thought leaders in mental health, positive psychology, personal development, and gratefulness. My toolkit is full. I even shared many of my tools with others. I have coached
executives and spoken to organizations to share insights about my tools and how I use them. In late May of 2018, it was as if my toolkit vanished. I was under the care of a good therapist and nurse practitioner managing some ongoing depression and anxiety issues. I had a pretty consistent gratitude practice blended with some meditation and other tools that were keeping me functional – helping me to survive. I was surviving, albeit not thriving. I was committed to my career and worked for a mission that was inspiring and kept me focused. I had friends and family near and far who were walking alongside me on the journey. On May 31, 2018, mental health turned to mental health crisis – a disabling illness that caused me to shut down, uproot my world, and keep me off work for nearly six months. Where was my toolkit? The things
V O L . 7 , I S S U E 2: L E G A C Y • 1 3
that had worked seemed to abruptly mental health and mental illness have stop working or disappear. They debilitating and devastating effects if were there and ultimately, after many left untreated. months, I found them again. It just Just as cancer and heart disease took lots of effort and support because or chronic illness like diabetes can be I just could not see them and had zero difficult to diagnose, mental illnesses motivation to access them. and their symptoms are hard to The things that had worked articulate, especially when you don’t seemed to abruptly stop working or even feel like discussing the challenges disappear. The diagnoses – depression, with your healthcare provider. anxiety, and ultimately Thankfully, I found posttraumatic stress – my toolkit and was able It's important took a while to clarify to dig back into it. I will to gather and because they did not reiterate that there is no these tools occur overnight, they one practice or easy fix before you take a while to heal. For on the road to recovery need them.. people like me who live from mental illness or to with mental health issues Finding them maintain one’s mental and mental illness, when health. tucked away I am struggling, it can In the following and nearby, be hard to reach for the pages are some of the having used toolkit. Minimally, it is tools that I think are them during like having a headache important to gather and not taking anything the better days, before you need them! for it. It may pass, but it Finding them tucked is so much may get worse before it away and nearby, having easier than gets better. But unlike a going out and used them during the headache, mental illness days, is so much trying to find better is hard to talk about. easier than going out There is no quick or them when you and trying to find them are already in when you are already easy treatment. There is stigma. There is blame. in crisis. You know, you crisis. . There is anger. There may have a workout bag is shame. There is guilt. I mean, I was that you take to the gym or it may be in working for an organization that is the trunk of your car or a closet. Keep saving children from deadly diseases these tools somewhere within reach. and those kids and their parents are Do you have some of these strong. tools at your fingertips for when you My inner dialogue was, “Why need them? You’ll notice a theme of am I struggling to just hold it together practicing. To get good at using any and not just ‘get over it’? It’s ‘just some tool, or exercise, or talent, you need stress and anxiety’ that I’m dealing to practice. Did I use all of these with.” That was my self-talk, on many tools every day? Probably not. And days before my crisis and during my certainly not when I was in crisis. But journey back to health. having a variety of options ultimately Like cancer or heart disease, served me well.
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Practice Gratitude
I was taught from a very young age to write thank you notes. Little did I know that the foundation of gratefulness inspired and encouraged (sometimes required) by my parents would become a foundational value in my life and work. Gratitude is a BIG shifter. It does not make negative things go away and should not be used to mask negative emotions. Bad things happen. Mental health crises happen. I don’t have to be grateful for the death of a loved one or a setback in my professional life. What I can be grateful for is the people who surround me and support me in those difficult times in life and work. Maybe I can be grateful for something I learned during the process. There are so many ways to practice gratitude. Make a list – morning or night. Starting your day with a sense of gratitude for personal things and things at work can set you up for a shift from negative thinking. Similarly, ending your day with journaling or a list of good things that happened that day can help you shift from work to home or help you get a better night's sleep. Some great resources can be found at Gratefulness.org,The Science of Happiness podcast, Greater Good magazine, and the Grateful app for your iPhone.
Practice Meditation or Mindfulness or Prayer
I have to find a way that works for me to stop the endless chatter in my mind. Via a blend of meditation and mindfulness and thoughtful, thankful prayer, even for brief periods of time, I can find focus and strength – centering and grounding. These tools have been particularly helpful to calm the mind and ease some of the symptoms of anxiety. Even if I just get clarity to remove myself from a situation for a few minutes to take a mindful walk or focus on being kind to someone else, these tools help. Again, I use an app: Calm.
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Practice Kindness
At my best, when I am volunteering or helping a friend or colleague, I can shift focus and cultivate emotions that help to offset negativity. When time is limited, simple acts of kindness and intentional acts of kindness also make a huge difference in perspective. A hobby has also helped. As of July 2020 (a pandemic hobby was born), I now paint kindness rocks to hide at local parks or public places or share with groups that serve various people who need a little encouragement.
Practice Communicating
This may be one of the hardest practices or hardest tools to use. Whether communicating openly with a friend, family member, therapist, or healthcare provider, the important thing is keep talking. This has to be in place before a depressive episode starts. Surround yourself with people and resources that you trust and that affirm you. Also, when you find your own health, being available to others who are struggling can be helpful. Listening was sometimes the thing that I needed most.
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Practice Being Active
The last thing I wanted to do when depression and anxiety took me into a downward spiral was workout. Thankfully, at the time I lived on the 4th floor of an apartment building with no elevator. I was a half-mile from my subway stop. So I got at least a modicum of activity. Better still would have been if I had maintained my yoga practice or had I been committed to a cardio regimen. Did I mention this is a journey and wherever you find yourself in your level of activity, KEEP MOVING! Between phones and wearable fitness devices, there are many tools out there to help with this. Find one that works for you.
Practice Good Nutrition
In the grip of the crisis, I lived on instant mac ‘n’ cheese microwavable food. Not my best choice. As my health returned, I realized even more that there are certain food and beverages that I have to be more mindful about. Fueling the body impacts body chemistry (and medication effectiveness) and on the most basic level, mental and physical health is about chemistry. Sugar and alcohol were not my best choices during this time.
Practice Savoring
Much like taking inventory of the things for which you are grateful, a practice of savoring the good things that happen helps to build a foundation for the future. We know what savoring food or wine looks like. But we don’t always savor experiences or accomplishments. Part of this practice is looking for the good things. Once you have identified two or three things, think about how they made you feel. Think about how you helped bring those things to your life. Consider the ways you might recreate the experience. The Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkley has a great site called Greater Good In Action. It offers a number of different practices that can help.
Practice Taking Care of Yourself
As mentioned before, talking with your healthcare provider is key. Help them get to know you when you are feeling well, which will help them identify issues when a crisis arises. Take your medication as instructed. See your therapist. For those of us in "helping professions" or who seek to be servant leaders or just enjoy helping friends, family and co-workers, you cannot overflow into the lives of others if you do not keep yourself full.
Practice Gathering the Tools that Work for You
There are many more tools and resources available. What has worked for you? What has worked for others in your community? Read and test them and practice them. If they work for you, share them with others. If they don’t, keep looking. Help and hope are available. Work on your courage and vulnerability. Ask for help. Another great resource is the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. They have research and resources that may be helpful for you, a friend, a family member or a coworker. Finally, if you find yourself or someone you love in a serious mental health crisis or mental illness emergency, call 800-273-8255 or text TALK to 741741. If you or someone you know is in danger of harming themselves, call 911 immediately.
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Creating a Community of Curiosity & Care A READING LIST BY LAUREN SMOTHERS Back in September, I had to close my business, Light Trap Books, for a couple of weeks. Partly to disengage from the business, and partly to address my own health. Leading up to the closure, I was incredibly anxious. The summer had brought several major life transitions and changes, and I hadn’t had (or wanted to take) the time to take care of myself. I was too busy taking care of the shop, managing my relationships, and providing attention to issues I thought were mine to solve to notice that I was depressed, overwhelmed, and burned out. A friend named what my gut had been trying to tell me for months. Stop. You’re hurting yourself. As individuals, it is important to know and listen to our bodies and pay attention to what they need. I spent two weeks away from the shop taking a personal inventory of sorts and adjusting my expectations. I reached out to the appropriate people. I did things I actually wanted to do. I reminded myself of the goodness within me and around me. I made some changes, shifted my perspective, and let some things go. What I keep learning is that perfection isn’t achievable. Acceptance
is. How many of us feel like we’re trying our best and still getting let down or burned by those we love? I’ve had to recognize that I cannot be everything to everyone, nor should I be. I have to be, well... me. I think about the relationship I have with my neighbors at theLOCAL, ElleTre and Turntable Coffee Counter. We’ve partnered together for events like Dia del Niño, Juneteenth, #731day, and small business Saturday. We’ve hosted pop ups for local artists, book signings for New York Times bestsellers, and fundraisers for Keep My Hood Good, and The Read Team. Elvia, Anthony, and I are constantly running in and out of each other’s shops, getting each other’s opinions or asking for advice. Sometimes it’s just to ask, are you okay? Do you need anything? It’s not to make our businesses look good or to give our egos a boost. It’s because we’ve accepted our limits and learned to work with them, not against them. We are healthiest as individuals and as communities when we are connected, active, and curious. I could list statistics or point you to our Google reviews, but places like Light Trap, ElleTre, and Turntable Coffee
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We are healthiest as individuals and as communities when we are connected, active, and curious.
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Counter don’t exist in vacuums. They exist as “third spaces'' between home and work, as resources and barometers of community health. Other examples include the Westwood Recreation Center, the Jackson-Madison County Library, places of worship, barber shops, and the recently announced SOUL Collective for Black and minority owned businesses in the train depot downtown. Practical ways to stay connected, active, and curious
include being a regular or frequent visitor at one or more “third spaces”, switching up or alternating the “third spaces'' to allow others to participate or receive from them, and partnering with local for-profit or non-profit businesses to address community concerns or needs. I want Jackson to thrive. I think you do too. Here are some books to get you started:
CHILDREN’S
The Circles All Around Us
by Brad and Kristi Montague A boy's circle starts out small but steadily grows as he builds relationships throughout his community. POETRY
Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude
by Ross Gay A sustained meditation on grief and gratitude—through poems on fig trees, unbuttoned shirts, and more. FICTION
Gilead
by Marilynne Robinson A dying reverend writes a letter to his young son.
E S S AY
The Fire Next Time
by James Baldwin Two letters detailing the legacy and institutionalization of racism — originally published in 1963.
SELF-HELP
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
by Emily and Amelia Nagoski For any woman who has felt overwhelmed and exhausted by everything she had to do, or worried that she wasn’t “enough” in doing so.
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the healers A P HOTO ESSAY BY COU R T N EY S E A R CY
Healing is a word we usually associate with the miraculous, a moment clearly marked by before and after. Sickness to Health. Pain to Relief. Discord to Peace. That isn’t wrong, but healing is also something happening before our eyes. The healers around us are the obvious types — doctors and therapists and the like — but when I think about the broader definition, there is a role for each of us to play. Because we are all trying to find our way to wholeness, and we have all needed someone to help us find our way there. The language of healing includes patching and mending, restoration and freedom. The work of healing comes to us in so many ways, though we may not always recognize it as such. We are restored in the right song being sung, the art hung in our homes that brings us peace, a walk in nature that lets us step away from the chaos for a moment, a kind word spoken when we need it. Our communities are restored by the people who work to alleviate poverty, to correct injustices, to eliminate the racism and hatred that divides us. This series, and this magazine only holds a fraction of the people who were named as healers in our community. On days when the world feels dark, they are the ones already taking steps to guide us forward.
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heal \ hēl \
transitive verb 1 a: to make free from injury or disease : to make sound or whole //heal a wound b:
to make well again : to restore to health //heal the sick
2a:
to cause (an undesirable condition) to be overcome : MEND //the troubles … had not been forgotten, but they had been healed — William Power
b:
to patch up or correct (a breach or division) //heal a breach between friends
3
: to restore to original purity or integrity //healed of sin
intransitive verb : to become free from injury or disease : to return to a sound state //The cut has already healed.
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WE N DY T R I C E MAR T I N & JO E MART IN Founder of the Society for African American Cultural Awareness | Barber
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AB BY WO L FZO R N Artist
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VOL . 6 , ISS U E 2: H OME & GARDE N • 2 8 28 • OUR JACKSON HOME
T E R RY B L A KE LY Healing Prayer Crew, All Saints Anglican Church Remember Me Walk
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N I CC I GA N O The Restorative Willow, Forest Therapy
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VOL . 6 , ISS U E 2: H OME & GARDE N • 3 1 V O L . 7 , I S S U E 2: L E G A C Y • 3 1
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MAT T H E W MARS H ALL President, United Way of West Tennessee
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Bicentennial
Connecting Through the Centuries For more information on Bicentennial Events visit:
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Be Okay
BY COURTNEY SEARCY PHOTOS BY DECEMBER RAIN HANSEN 36 • OUR JACKSON HOME
On Sunday morning at Historic First Baptist Church, Stedman Roebuck stands ready at the keyboard, looking out over the congregation. As the preacher’s voice rises, and a tune rises with it. He moves with the music, with the crowd, with the lifting of voices. Hands are raised and tears fall. Shoulders relax into a place that feels like home. The first time I heard Stedman play was the summer of 2020 and I was sitting in my room-turnedoffice for the fourth month straight, watching the first draft of the video file for the Porchfest Drive-In that would be taking the place of Porchfest held annually on 731 Day, July 31. Because we weren’t going to be packed into the yards of our neighbors to hear live music, we did our best, like everyone else, to make something meaningful out of it. I pushed “play” on the film the crew had been working on for months. Soon, I’d be watching the film from our makeshift Drive-In theater, safely six feet away from my neighbor. In the transition between artists, you hear a tune on the keys being played by Stedman, one that feels bright and full and hopeful. Next, Terrence Dawson asks for a key change. A slow, peaceful melody begins and Terrence starts to sing. In the midst of some of the darkest days of the pandemic, that moment moved me to relax into the music we’d so dearly missed gathering to hear. I didn’t know it then, but on that
same day a year earlier, Stedman had been stopping by his mother’s house with a friend when he heard music in the distance. “Do you hear music?” His friend brushed it off, but he was insistent. "Do you hear music?" Determined, he followed the sound to find the crowd for Porchfest in 2019, as LOLO took the stage for the final performance. In that moment, he knew he wanted himself and his community to be present there. Two years later, he was playing at the final stage on that same street with Kelsea Merriweather. If there’s anything that can be said of Stedman, it’s that music has led him throughout the world with that same driving force since the day he was born. It’s a force he reads like the winds of a storm coming in, that he knows how to sail, how to bring joy and peace and freedom with. Maybe we don’t see it around us, but he is playing the notes we’ll follow. Stedman was born and raised in Jackson, Tennessee, to a family full of musicians. There’s no way to trace the beginning of the influence of music in his life. Though music was always a part of his life, there were moments that solidified it as being a part of his path. His parents, Cynthia Roebuck and Elvis Roebuck, were musicians. His mother played and sang, his grandmother played, father played piano and sang, “my
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stepmother even played piano and the stage at Historic First Baptist sang.” Church. When his father passed away As a producer, he envisions before his eighth grade graduation, elevating other up-and-coming Stedman started piano lessons artists. He knows the barriers “late” compared to a lot of to access to music for young musicians, but he was surrounded artists around him, and wants to by influences who pushed him, see resources and opportunities including his sister. She went to the extended to them. University of Memphis, toured as a “When I play at church one of musician overseas, and came back my thoughts is the child in the back and told him about all the places of the room. Theres a child who is she went. “That sparked something listening and you are shaping his in me,” Roebuck future,” he said. said. Her influence His vision is one "When I play at continued, as she’d church one of that is far reaching, introduce him to new my thoughts is and has taken shape music and art. He was the child in the in many outlets. He developing something, remembers being back of the room. and learning to listen. kid and driving There's a child adown Then there’s a North Royal, who is listening wondering particularly vivid why and you are memory of his sister all the different bringing home a CD shaping him for churches didn’t the future." produced by J Dilla. come together. So in “The things I 2019, he created a heard him do in that one album space to do just that. Members from changed everything. I wanted to be 20 churches filled the choir loft at a producer,” Roebuck said. Historic First Baptist for the Hub After high school, Stedman City Mass Choir. moved to Memphis. It was a “Music has been like a costume combination of the drive to go to for me. I get to put it on and be school and learn, as well as the free, to transform into a super hero. desire to run from home. This When I’m not playing, I’m idle, time was formational, giving him I have time to reflect and think. the experience and confidence he When I’m playing it gives me the needed to hone in his craft. In 2015, opportunity to forget. Because of he came home to Jackson. the sharpening of the gift, it allowed Since his return home Stedman me to just do it so freely. I’m past has worked with a clear and driven playing the instrument, I want the vision, and his influence is seen people to have a good time. Music in many ways beyond his time on is my release. I understand that
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there is healing in music,” he said. His work in our city is happening much like the invisible current of the music he plays on Sunday. For underrepresented artists, for young artists with dreams, for his church, for his family, he is playing the right notes, bringing the right people to the room, and seeking out excellence in all facets. The crucial element is whether, like he has done, we can learn to hear the music outside of our usual paths and circles, follow it, and join in with people across the street or across the city, or in another pew,
bringing others along with us to the tables we find ourselves at. In a time when our world is divided and hostile, when we are still recovering from the effects of the pandemic, Stedman understands that how we come together and what we create together is crucial to making our home a better place for everyone not just to live, but to flourish, and it is clear in his words and actions. “I just want everybody to be okay. If I can do that through music, I’ll do that until I die.”
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photo by December Rain Hansen
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The Long Hauler JAMES E CHERRY
One year after, 700,000 are lost, faces from the evening news, others who have left indelible traces upon this life. Each morning, I estimate antibodies, take 1000 mg of Vitamin C to compensate the missing. A sore arm and acute sadness my only side-effect from a vial of panacea. My alienation wears an N95 against the vicissitudes of variants before I step foot upon daybreak. At the workplace, I take the temperature of isolation once a day and it returns twice as high as the day before. I have learned to camouflage loneliness with a walk in the park, a restaurant patio, friends six feet apart. By five o’clock it is midnight already. I unlock the front door, close the world behind. After supper and the sorting of mail the numbing of alcohol, sounds the house makes when nudged by evening hours, an echo somewhere between solitude and desperation.
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44 • OUR JACKSON HOME 44 • O U R J A C K S O N H O M E
B Y T R I S TA H AV N E R P H O T O S B Y TA M A R A R E E D M I L L E R
Admittedly, it can be daunting to set up an interview with a complete stranger in hopes that I can glean enough about who they are, their nuances, to do their story justice. Two hours is hardly enough to capture the essence of who someone truly is. But time and time again, I find myself being captivated by the women that I interview, and I continue to leave their spaces feeling as if I have entered into a real place of knowing. Sabrina Blue was certainly no different. When I arrived in her office on the second floor of the Helping Hands of Tennessee clinic, I watched as she, quite literally, sped around the space outlining changes and additions to a contractor who was doing his best to keep up. I would later understand this to be a metaphor of how she lives her life — fast, measured, with purpose. Sabrina Blue was born in Frankfurt, Germany, but was raised in rural Georgia by parents who were full time ministers interested in
church planting — and they did just that. They started a small church, meeting in homes and later moving into a cafeteria to meet the needs of their growing congregation. The values of service and true belief, the kind that leads people to build whole ministries to uplift and dignify others, were instilled in Sabrina by her parents, and ultimately would be the foundation for her own vocation and calling. When I asked how she felt her parents and her childhood most impacted the trajectory of her life, she explained that she was most grateful for her parents’ ability to live authentically, but also for the exposure they gave her to diversity. Witnessing different racial and cultural and socio-economic experiences led her to shed preconceived notions and to view the world through the lens of acceptance and advocacy, eventually leading her to Jackson, Tennessee to start a non-profit. Sabrina moved around before landing in South Carolina, where
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she founded and grew two 24- accept their coverages, and as her hour daycare centers. She would frustration mounted, a moment of eventually sell that business and move clarity led her to the idea of opening into the role of insurance broker in a clinic that would serve all clients, 2010. She realized as she served her regardless of their insurance status. clients that there was so much of In December of 2016, she moved the business that they did not know to Jackson, Tennessee, and in early or understand, leading them to January, she launched Helping miss out on coverage opportunities Hands of Tennessee. and benefits, simply due to lack What started rather organically of exposure. She in 2017 has grown became passionate into a full-fledged What started clinic focused on about identifying and rather addressing barriers to making an impact organically service in insurance on the community in 2017 has coverage and by improving overall grown into a educating her clients, quality of life but felt the pull to do and by providing full-fledged more, so she began clinic focused healthcare options to ask and pray for on making an that are affordable guidance on what her impact on the and holistic. Sabrina next step should be. understood that dental community She explained that, by improving care was paramount one night, she clearly overall health in overall quality for felt in her spirit that the community, so of life and God was asking her she set out to marry by providing what SHE would dental and medical healthcare do if she could do care under one roof. options that anything. She knew, Patients had to have are affordable medical clearance in in that moment, that and holistic. she would start a nonorder to be treated by profit, but had little a dental clinic, and idea how that would look or who she finding clinics to serve both needs would serve. As she explored what was tedious and often fruitless. she already knew about disparities And, if I learned anything about in the healthcare industry and Sabrina in our time together, it is coverage opportunities, the pieces that she refuses to let an obstacle be began to fall into place. She really an obstacle. If the problem was so dug into Medicare education and great that the underserved in our quickly found that her clients had community were going without coverage options and benefits care, she would create a space to but no place to use them. There care for them of her own. were very few clinics who would Helping Hands of Tennessee 46 • O U R J A C K S O N H O M E
takes new patients, gives them a medical checkup so that they can have clearance to receive dental care, and then serves their dental needs in the same building. And this has been transformative. Sabrina understands medical insurance and its intricacies, so she is able to remove the barriers to service. Patients are treated, regardless of insurance status, based on grants and sponsorships (i.e. the Direct Relief International, the Tennessee Charitable Care Network, the Department of Health), and can pay on a sliding scale based on income. She has streamlined the entire process for her patients, and they can receive all of the treatment they need in one building by professionals in both the medical and dental field. And beyond that, she is educating her clients to understand their coverage so that they can gain their own access for
future needs. She has brought in a New York based non-profit, Seedco, to offer education and guidance for her clients to enroll in and optimize their insurance options. Sabrina has ensured that all barriers to service have been removed, that patients’ individual and holistic needs are met and that they are empowered to exercise their options for their benefit. Extending a hand to our community and holding them up so that they may eventually stand for themselves and reciprocate that care is the purest form of service. Caring enough to empower is often tiresome and difficult, but the byproducts are lasting and beautiful. The next part of conversation moved into what lies ahead for Helping Hands of Tennessee, and as we discussed all of the amazing progress, Sabrina’s eyes told me so much more than her words. This V O L . 7 , I S S U E 2: L E G A C Y • 47
is a woman who is planning for the final step while the first step is happening. She has ideas and plans and leans into them until they are fully realized. As she was explaining all of the amazing programs starting, she got increasingly more animated and more passionate. Her voice became more confident and sure. Sabrina Blue is not her work, but she is about it. And it was infectious. I found myself being pulled into the intricacies of her plans, and I felt captivated by her energy. I listened intently as she explained that the meeting that I walked in on, with her contractor, was to build out the second floor of their building to welcome a campus site for the Concorde dental program, which will be a pilot program in which students can train to become dental assistants, hygienists and massage therapists right here in Jackson. Helping Hands of Tennessee will
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also be welcoming the Royal Health Administration program, which offers an in-house apprenticeship program for students sixteen and older to learn how to be a dental lab technician in a twelve week, paid-to-learn program. These are opportunities for people in our own community to learn skills that will impact all of us. Because empowerment, both personally and professionally, is a catalyst for communal advancement. As we wrapped up our conversation, I wanted to be sure I did not gloss over the hard and necessary aspects of the work Sabrina is doing to get to the feelgood details, the parts that readers want to hear and celebrate. Because I know that this kind of work is fueled by the labor of a lot of hands, I wanted to be sure to give attention to the ways that we, as Jacksonians, could help Sabrina
and her team continue to provide and gives power to those who once this service to our community. I felt powerless. She is advocating for asked her to suggest some tangible and educating our neighbors so that ways that individuals could provide they can go into our community aid. Because Helping Hands of with a renewed sense of health and Tennessee is a non-profit, donations wholeness and worth. That is work are always appreciated. Any and all that should excite and motivate us funds received go directly to the to give whatever resources we can program to provide supplies for the offer. clinics and impact our neighbors on I have been reflecting on my a personal level. time with Sabrina for Sabrina also the last few days. And, We have to suggested that as a woman, I have live with volunteering time is eyes and ears learned the absolute critical. The program open to the necessity of spending could always use discrepancies time with other women help from people who let you peer into in our with experience in their greatness. That community administration and is exactly what she and step in accounting, and allowed me to do in our the gaps to people who can offer time together. I cannot meet needs. possibly commit myself big picture advice We all benefit fully to the work that for the future of from a whole she is doing, but I can the program would help build a diverse and healthy see the vision she is vision. But ultimately, community. casting and that fuels awareness is key. We my own work and vision cannot effectively serve if we do for our community. And in case you not purposely learn. We have to have not noticed, Jackson is full of live with eyes and ears open to the women with rich and robust and discrepancies in our community and ambitious plans for the betterment step in the gaps to meet needs. We of this community. For the whole all benefit from a whole and healthy of this community. In days when I community. Sabrina Blue knows have felt defeated or outdone with that and has been building a bridge hoping for change, I can stand for the last four years to ensure that on the shoulders of these women no one gets left behind. Her work that I have met along the way and is not charity, it is empowerment. It remember that I am not alone. I is instilling confidence in the most am honored to add Sabrina Blue to basic of ways, through a healthy that ever-growing list of neighbors smile and oral health, that will lead who are leaning into the hard work, to life change. A smile opens up never shying away, and making life doors that were previously closed better and more meaningful here. VOL . 6 , ISS U E 2: H OME & GARDE N • 49 V O L . 7 , I S S U E 2: L E G A C Y • 49
Knitted Together to Flourish LE BONHEUR COMMUNITY SERVICES IN WEST TENNESSEE BY LUKE PRUETT
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“Big things have small beginnings.” T.E. Lawrence
Le Bonheur’s Beginnings Le Bonheur is a French phrase meaning “happiness” – a phrase that lends itself quite naturally as the name for a club dedicated to knitting and sewing for the benefit of others. In 1923, a local band of women gathered together to do just that, naming themselves Le Bonheur Club. This small but powerful sewing group began making clothes for children living in Memphis’ Leath Orphanage. What came from their pursuit of happiness for children is incredibly extraordinary in impact and scope. Over time, the Le Bonheur Club’s members' hearts grew more moved by the needs of the orphanage’s children, particularly in the arena of health and wellbeing. A collaboration was born between pediatricians of the Pediatric Society
and knitters from the Le Bonheur Club. The Club began raising funds to help with the medical care for the orphanage’s children, and the joint effort was a great success. In1944, when $2 million dollars were needed to fund a hospital dedicated solely to children, the Pediatric Society knew exactly whom to call. Through the hard work and selfless generosity of many, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital opened in 1952. When Le Bonheur officially opened its doors as the first hospital dedicated to children in the region, the Le Bonheur Club President said, “The doors of Le Bonheur will never be found closed and will forever hereafter be open to those who come in need, seeking its help.”
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A Thriving Region: West Tennessee and The Hub City Meanwhile, in West Tennessee, Jackson is known as the Hub City. You recognize this branding quickly when driving around town. From Hub City Brewing downtown to the Hub City Bicycle Co.in Hamilton Hills shopping center, the moniker is everywhere. Google “Hub City Jackson,” and you’ll quickly be directed to insurance, tax, travel, deli, and realty services bearing that name. But why do these businesses want to communicate they are here to serve a broader market than just Jackson? The answer is in the phrase itself. A hub is the central part of a wheel, “from which the spokes radiate.” Oxford’s dictionary elaborates. The wheel could never be propelled without its hub. But without the surrounding spokes, barrel, lug nuts and tire tread the hub would be forever grounded and immobile. The hub is dependent on the wellbeing of the entirety of the wheel, and vice versa.
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Jackson businesses thrive and flourish when West Tennessee residents from Bells in Crockett County, Humboldt and Milan in Gibson County, Henderson in Chester County, Lexington in Henderson County, Huntington in Carroll County, Brownsville in Haywood County and beyond are frequenting their establishments and engaging with their core products and services. And conversely, Jacksonians experience their greatest economic and social experience when these surrounding cities and counties offer high-quality goods, services, and community experiences. Our flourishing is built on interdependence. This interdependent reality is what makes West Tennessee so special and the basis for Le Bonheur Children’s anchoring so many of its world-renowned health and community services in the region.
Le Bonheur’s Commitment to Jackson and West Tennessee Today, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital is a U.S. News and World Report top-ranked Children’s Hospital. And since its founding, Le Bonheur has provided expert pediatric care to residents of Jackson and West Tennessee. More than 14,000 West Tennessee children receive medical care from Le Bonheur each year. More than 4,000 families from West Tennessee have stayed at FedExFamilyHouse, a home-away-from-home for Le Bonheur families, at no cost while their child received care at the hospital. This high level and volume of care has been expanding in recent years due to the Hub City’s growth
alongside the medical services of Le Bonheur. The Le Bonheur Children’s Outpatient Center on Vann Drive provides expert analysis and care in such areas as neurology, cardiology, pulmonology, dermatology, endocrinology, and 14 other medical subspecialties. And in the spring of 2022, Le Bonheur Children’s will officially begin collaborating with West Tennessee Healthcare to provide inpatient pediatric services within Jackson-Madison County General Hospital. More than ever Le Bonheur is locally present for children in West Tennessee in need of medical intervention and care.
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Le Bonheur Community Services in West Tennessee At the center of that dedication to serve children and families throughout West Tennessee is Le Bonheur’s utilization of the Hub City as a launching point to care for 13 counties surrounding Jackson. Le Bonheur’s Community Outreach division is at the heart of its mission to serve every child. The Community Outreach team at Le Bonheur pursues this mission through the Le Bonheur on the Move (LOM) mobile health unit, nurse health education, and behavioral health care navigation. Le Bonheur on the Move is a mobile medical unit that travels in rural West Tennessee to provide affordable, accessible healthcare services for children and to connect them with a medical home. This is accomplished by partnering with school systems who have identified
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a need for their children. LOM supports the efforts of primary care providers by identifying the health care needs of children, offering preventative health services and education, and linking children to appropriate medical and/or behavioral health services. LOM also refers children who have or are at risk for developing a chronic condition to RN Health Education. Registered nurse health educators provide education about healthy living and make referrals to primary care or specialists when needed. Le Bonheur on the Move team members focus on caring for children on their level — getting to know their backgrounds and healthcare needs and providing access to care for children who are hurting from physical pain or relational loss. Recently, the LOM
team cared for a child whose parents had very recently passed away in a vehicle accident. In coordination with the child’s guardians, the Le Bonheur Community Outreach team was able to connect the child with licensed social workers who specialize in helping children emotionally navigate incurred trauma. Just like the Leath Orphanage children cared for nine decades ago by Le Bonheur Club and The Pediatric Society, the Le Bonheur Community Outreach team is proactively pursuing high-risk children lacking access to holistic health care services. Whether it’s providing health education in a compelling, fun way to combat childhood obesity or discovering untreated physical symptoms causing pain, discomfort, or even a threat to their lives, the Le Bonheur Community Outreach team is crucial for the health care
of hundreds of West Tennessee children. Le Bonheur Community Outreach’s Behavioral Health Care Navigation is a school-based program. The goal of this program is to identify the social, emotional, and behavioral needs of children, offer interventions to address needs in the home and school environments, and link children to appropriate community resources. Every day the Behavioral Health Care Navigation team walks with students referred to them for verbal and physical aggression, low motivation in school, anxiety, grief, and many other concerns. Every day the Le Bonheur team gets to celebrate children who move from these referrals into academic success and emotional stability through intervention and care.
West Tennessee Champions for Children West Tennesseans deserve the very best for their children and their community. Jackson’s role as the Hub City makes it a catalyst for community care. Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital's role in caring for children for seven decades makes it a catalyst for healing and treatment throughout the Hub City and its surrounding counties. Jackson businesses understand the interdependent nature of West Tennesseans and Jacksonians — and Le Bonheur understands the interdependent nature of collaboration for health care
excellence. These collaborations with regional schools, West Tennessee Healthcare, and young patients all over West Tennessee aren't possible without local businesses and individuals partnering to become champions for children. What started as a sewing circle to care for a few children has become a world leader in pediatric care servicing tens of thousands of children from West Tennessee each year. Together, Le Bonheur and the Hub City can do great things for West Tennessee.
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SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT
The Future of Healthcare Technology in Jackson, Tennessee BY JOSH KASPER
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How do you go about creating a workforce out of thin air? This is the problem Jill Taylor, Co-Owner of ReNew Biomedical and Master Medical Equipment, faced in 2019. ReNew is a full-service medical equipment depot in Jackson, TN, specializing in repairing, servicing, and maintaining complex medical equipment. Over their seven years of operation, ReNew earned licenses to work on a wide range of Professional Grade equipment, including ventilators, AEDs, defibrillators, vital signs monitors, IV pumps, and more. In that same time, the company expanded to offer biomedical field service to Medical Facilities customers in all 50 states and cover everything from EMS, hospitals, med flights, surgery centers, and every kind of first responder. ReNew's rapid growth raised an urgent question for Co-Owners Mark and Jill Taylor and Justin Smith: How do we hire Healthcare Technology Management technicians in Jackson, TN? As if hiring trained, experienced, specialized medical equipment technicians wasn't difficult enough, the COVID-19 pandemic attacked the healthcare industry. Thousands of ventilators had to be unboxed and laboriously prepped for clinical use. Countless other ventilators required service and calibration to continue delivering life-saving respiratory therapy. As the healthcare system experienced more stress, the need for immediate equipment service
of monitors, infusion pumps, and defibrillators only increased. ReNew was understaffed, overworked, and the workload showed no signs of letting up. Cue the ReNew Biomedical Training Academy. The ReNew Biomedical Training Academy, the brainchild of Jill Taylor, is designed to fight the shortage of skilled HTMs and biomedical technicians in West Tennessee. With certified technicians in short supply and high demand, Jill set out to create a program to certify new technicians. She aimed to offer a comprehensive program including curriculum training, workbench experience, journeymen mentors, and achievement of industry certifications. Apprentices in the program receive full pay while working towards their certifications, making it a viable and attractive work-study option for future techs. "Jackson offers a perfect environment for this type of apprenticeship program because of the number of candidates in search of job placement in a more technical field of study. We believe that the pool of talent in our area is strong, and the growth potential is very exciting," said Jill Taylor. Mark reached out to the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI), the official standardization body for certifying medical equipment technicians. AAMI came alongside the project to offer resources, including their curriculum for a newly developed course. With this V O L . 7 , I S S U E 2: L E G A C Y • 57
partnership, ReNew became the first apprenticeship program to partner with AAMI, offering CABT (Certified Associate in Biomedical Technology) and CBET (Certified Biomedical Equipment Technician) certifications. "It couldn't have worked out better," Taylor says. "The things that we wanted to do dovetailed perfectly with what AAMI wanted to do as well." Thanks to Governor Bill Lee and Commissioner Rolfe, the Training Academy received grants from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development to renovate their facility, including new workbenches and new classroom spaces. Additionally, the RBTA registered 58 • O U R J A C K S O N H O M E
with the U.S. Department of Labor as an Apprentice program, ensuring high management standards and a meaningful mentor framework. Governor Bill Lee notes, "The addition of these highquality jobs in Madison County will make a difference both for the employees and our collective efforts to fight COVID-19. These technical jobs equip healthcare workers with the equipment they need to operate effectively, and I thank ReNew Biomedical Services for their continued investment in Tennessee." Apprentices enrolled in the Training Academy acquire realworld training on a variety of medical equipment. Not only
The hard work of biomedical technicians and apprentices alike has had a global impact. Timely service and fast turnaround times allowed MME to distribute thousands of life-saving healthcare units to healthcare workers on the front lines of the covid pandemic. do they learn in a personalized environment with small classes, but they also put it into practice on the workbench. The comprehensive AAMI-Accredited curriculum prepares apprentices to pass a CABT Certification test (~6-month program), CBET Certification test (~2-year program), and IT Fundamentals. Since the official launch in January 2021, seven ReNew technicians have earned CABT certification and continue to
study for their CBET. ReNew Biomedical is the sister company of Master Medical Equipment, with both companies operating under the same roof. MME focuses on sales of new and recertified equipment, while ReNew supplies the equipment service. ReNew is ISO 13485 certified, which verifies a quality management system specific to medical equipment handling. This certifies ReNew's commitment
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to meeting customers' needs and sets a framework for continual self-improvement. The hard work of biomedical technicians and apprentices alike has had a global impact. Timely service and fast turnaround times allowed MME to distribute thousands of life-saving healthcare units to healthcare workers on the front lines of the covid pandemic. ReNew Biomedical offers a clean, indoor, well-maintained work environment, much to the delight of technicians brought in from other industries. Mechanicallygifted techs find it easy to switch to the high-paying field of biomedical work, as evidenced by most biomeds beginning their careers in other fields. Caleb Barber, who recently achieved his CABT, said, "A friend offered me a position as a base level tech when I was searching for a new career opportunity. What
I thought was just going to be another job turned into a lifelong career that I'm striving to succeed in. I have a mechanical background which made biomed work an easy transition. I've come to enjoy the fulfilling work along with building a career with ReNew." The Training Academy always seeks hardworking talent and those interested in launching a skilled, in-demand, rewarding career path right here in Jackson, Tennessee. Vibrant healthcare infrastructure is key to Jackson and West Tennessee's future, becoming one of the fastest-growing industries. ReNew Biomedical Training Academy is on track to produce over 45 talented, high-paying jobs with U.S. Department of Labor recognized credentials over the next five years. To learn more or apply, visit www.ReNewBiomedical.com/ or email Rwoods@renewbiomedical.com. VOL . 6 , ISS U E 2: H OME & GARDE N • 6 0
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jacksonclinic.com
Kiana Brooks, M.D.
Lolly Eldridge, M.D.
W. Franklin Pierce IV, M.D.
Stephen D. Hammond, M.D.
Shannon F. Renfrow, M.D.
Lisa W. Rogers, M.D.
Nancy P. Utley, M.D.
Christopher T. Welsch, M.D.
Staci Thomas, MSN, CNM
Katherine E. Wyatt, MSN, APRN, FNP - BC
Kristen Younger MSN, APRN, NP-C
OB/GYN
Your health is a lifelong journey. It’s personal. It’s unique. It’s yours. The Jackson Clinic OB/GYN team has eight physicians, a midwife, and two nurse practitioners to help you on your journey towards optimal health.
Contributors IN THIS ISSUE
J A M E S E . C H E R R Y is the author of three collections of poetry, two novels and a collection of short fiction. A native Jacksonian, he has an MFA in creative writing from the University of Texas at El Paso and is an adjunct professor of English at the University of Memphis-Lambuth. Visit him at: jamesEcherry.com. DECEMBER RAIN H A N S E N was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska but has made West Tennessee her home for the last 8 years. She is a photographer and writer who looks for ways to push her own boundaries within her work and seeks to question the world around her. DARIN HOLLINGSWORTH has had a thriving career as a financial advisor, a sales professional, a senior fundraising professional and a non-profit executive.Now via executive and philanthropy
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coaching, Darin is passionate about helping successful professionals realize and exceed their personal and professional potential. TA M A R A R E E D M I L L E R is a Hairstylist/Entrepreneur and a Photographer. Tamara is a graduate of Haywood High School & West Tennessee School of Cosmetology. Her gift for hair & photography can be seen. T R I S T A H A V N E R is a born and raised Jackson girl, a mom, wife, and small business owner. She and her husband, Charlie, have a charming local family business and are passionate about the history there. Trista can be found putting together frames in her family’s shop or lettering anything that will hold still. Her love for home grows daily, and she is passionate about being an agent of growth and positive change in her beloved Hub City.
GRACE MULLIN is originally from Crowley, Texas and is a writer with a love for acorn squash soup. When she isn’t writing, you can find Grace making lattes at Starbucks or listening to podcasts while baking. Grace and her husband hope to adopt a tomato frog in the near future. COURTNEY SEARCY became the Program Director of Our Jackson Home at theCO in 2020, having contributed to OJH as a writer, photographer, and volunteer since 2015. Courtney serves as Editor-in-Chief for the blog and magazine and coordinates events and Our Jackson Home projects. Jackson became home after she graduated from Union University in 2014, where she studied Graphic Design and Journalism. She thinks the best things in life are porch swings, good food, art, music, and friends to share it all with.
L U K E P R U E T T is a Foundation Director at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and a founder of Our Jackson Home. Born in Blytheville, AR Luke moved to Jackson, TN to attend Union University. In 2015, Luke graduated from the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law and spent the next 6 years as the Recruiting Director at City Leadership in Memphis. Luke’s wife April still works at City Leadership and they split time living in Memphis and Jackson with their three boys Thomas, Liam, and Elliot. Luke’s work at Le Bonheur centers around connecting business and community leaders with funding avenues to support world class children’s healthcare. LAUREN SMOTHERS is a poet, photographer, and the owner and founder of Light Trap Books. She has called Jackson home, on and off, for the last fifteen years.
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