THE IMPACT OF BROADBAND: HEALTH CARE EDITION
Dr. Claude Bridges, left, receptionist Brandi Harvey, registered nurse Courtney Quillin, receptionist Laura Postoak, phlebotomist/medical assistant Heather Barnes and office manager/medical assistant Hillary Williams.
Building Bridges Serving in a small-town atmosphere
W
hen Dr. Claude Bridges III was just a boy, he bought a book through the Weekly Reader book club program at school that would shape his future. He says the book, “Health Explorers,” and the fact that his grandfather had a heart condition spurred an interest in medicine. “That created the academic interest in becoming a doctor, but I truly feel it’s the Lord’s will for me to be in this profession,” says Bridges.
He’s been practicing medicine for 33 years, the last 26 of them in the Ardmore area. Bridges works at Ardmore Clinic on First Street, providing health care to patients in both Alabama and Tennessee. Ardmore Clinic is part of Lister Health Care based in Florence.
12 | March/April 2019
BY LISA SAVAGE
“I really like the small-town atmosphere here, and it often feels like Floyd’s barbershop in Mayberry,” Bridges jokes. “Being here allows me to build a relationship with the people I see year after year.” Bridges grew up in Huntsville and Ardmore, Tennessee. He attended the University of Tennessee College of Medicine from 1980 to 1984 and did his family practice residency in Jackson, Tennessee, until 1987. Then he settled in North Alabama. Bridges and his wife, Freida, have been married for 40 years, and they have seven children. Bridges is an avid hiker and treks often through the Southeast. He and his family are also involved in their local church.
YEARS OF EXPERIENCE Bridges gained invaluable experience as an emergency room physician and spent time in Muscle Shoals at Med Plus and at Athens-Limestone Hospital before coming to Ardmore Clinic. A few years ago, he had to take a week off for a medical situation of his own. By the end of the week, he missed the daily routine of seeing patients. “I believe that time away renewed my commitment to medicine and caring for my patients,” he says.
Ardmore Telephone Company
