Shining Light

Retired Glasgow surgeon offers help and hope to others

BY JEN CALHOUN

Growing up in India, Bharat Mody remembers his mother feeding anyone who needed help — from neighbors, strangers and wandering cows to birds. His father would help those who didn’t speak English to understand official documents, or he’d go with them to government proceedings to translate.

“It was just how they felt,” says Mody, a retired Glasgow general surgeon and local philanthropist. “They did whatever they could do to help that would make a difference. It was a daily routine for them.” Their good deeds made an impact on Mody, whose own works over the years have helped feed, clothe and heal thousands of people in Barren County, across the state and around the world.

With the help of dedicated friends from the city, the county, the health care industry and beyond, Mody spearheaded the Community Medical Care program, Glasgow’s Habitat for Humanity ReStore warehouse, the Barren County Children’s Day celebration, the annual To The Brim food drive and various scholarship awards. He spends his time and abilities providing health care to others, teaching students in health care fields and giving meals to children in need. “I’m here for some purpose,” Mody says. “I’m here for some reason — to make something good for other people, something good for the planet. I want to do whatever I can do to make some changes and to make some difference. When I do, it gives me so much inner joy.”

FINDING HOME

Mody moved from India to the U.S. in the early 1970s with his wife, retired obstetrics and gynecology physician Bharati Mody. The couple first worked in Massachusetts but found the weather too cold for their liking, so they moved southward. After residencies with St. Thomas Health in Nashville and a fellowship in Louisville, they took inspiration from the late Glasgow physician John Marsh and moved to South Central Kentucky.

“We knew the area at that point,” Mody says. “Once we came here, we loved this place. We loved the community and the patients. We just wanted a good place to practice and a good place to live, so we practiced here for 33 years.”

SEEING THE NEED

For years, Mody stayed busy with his general surgery practice. By the early 2000s, however, he had noticed that a growing number of people lacked access to health care. Many people worked but didn’t make enough to pay for health insurance. Others were elderly and couldn’t pay for prescription medicines.

To combat these issues, Mody joined forces with other doctors and nurses, health department workers, the Glasgow mayor and judge-executive, T.J. Samson Community Hospital, and local churches. The result was the volunteer-run Community Medical Care facility, which helps provide primary health care; prescription medications; dentures; hearing aids; emergency dental, optometric and hospital care; and specialist consultations for low-income working adults and seniors. He continues to operate CMC today.

But Mody didn’t stop there. He started volunteering for Habitat for Humanity when he could, and he eventually helped found Glasgow’s ReStore warehouse, which raises money for Habitat projects by selling donated building and home goods supplies. He spearheaded To The Brim, an annual food drive that helps fill local food pantries, and he helped start Glasgow-Barren County Children’s Day, a yearly music event that funds basic needs and school supplies for children in schools in Glasgow and Barren County.

For several years, Mody donated his surgical skills with Surgery on Sunday, a program in Lexington that offers surgeries for patients in need. He also helps obtain surplus medical supplies and equipment for people overseas through a program out of Louisville.

In addition, Mody has been a driving force in creating Shanti Niketan Hospice Home, an eight-suite hospice facility that will offer end-of-life care for terminally ill patients in the Glasgow region. Translated, the name means “a place for inner peace.” The facility, which held a groundbreaking in October across from T.J. Samson Community Hospital, will include a nursing station, prayer room, gardens, a garden room and other amenities for patients and their families. The T.J. Community Mission Foundation planned the project.

In his spare time, Mody tends to his lush flower garden and a tree farm he started when his now-grown daughters were young. He loves watching the birds, bees, butterflies and animals thrive around his work. He also creates stained glass and sells it. But he asks that the checks for the pieces be made out directly to the charities he supports.

“I do what I can do while I’m here,” he says. “I consider these things as I would praying. I guess if you believe, you can see God in everything.”

Glasgow-Barren County Children’s Day is at 6 p.m. on Nov. 21 in the Barren County High School gymnasium. The twohour musical event shines the spotlight on children from Barren County and Glasgow schools, while raising money for resources to help them. Admission is free for children, and a $10 donation is suggested for adults. Visit the event’s Facebook page or childrensday.org for more information on donating.