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Volunteer Stories

PHC Clinic Staff

John Hanrahan MD - Interim Executive Director
"I've always believed that everyone has a right to basic health care - PHC's mission in the past ten years has been to provide that care. I helped start the Clinic because, every day in my family medicine practice, I saw patients who had waited too long to seek care, whose conditions were much worse than they needed to be. And I knew there were many more we never saw, or whom we saw only briefly in Urgent Care, then sent on to the ERs in Salt Lake City. So much good can be done with early professional medical treatment, and the residents of our area have been so generous in making that a reality here."

Dr. Hanrahan has returned to the People's Health Clinic, an organization he knows well, as he served as Vice Chair and Chair of the Board of Directors, Volunteer Medical Director, and Volunteer Executive Director during the Clinic's early years. PHC is pleased to welcome him back as Interim Executive Director.

John grew up in Maryland and studied Medicine at the University of Maryland, where he met his future wife, Maura, over an anatomy table. They went on to fulfill Family Practice Residencies at the University of East Carolina, then came to Utah to settle. John was in family practice at what is now the Park City Family Health Clinic when he became involved with Father Bob Bussen in addressing the medical needs of the uninsured in our area. In June of 2000, John left his practice to join local Pastor Joe Mitchell to found The Hope Alliance, an organization that provides medical care overseas. He continued his involvement with the People's Health Clinic for several years.

After 3 years of hiatus from PHC involvement, John rejoined the Board in 2007 and has served as Chairman of the Clinic's Medical Committee.

 

Cecily Huff Smith, RN, BSN - Clinic Director

"It is wonderful to be part of a community that, while being considered well-to-do, continues to embrace the mission of providing health care to the uninsured. It shows that Park City recognizes that the people who do the daily work in town - building the houses, caring for our visitors, working in our restaurants - have an important place here."

Cecily Huff Smith has a Bachelor's degree in Nursing from the Medical College of Virginia. She has worked as a surgical intensive care nurse, PACU, Cath Lab and Home Care and Hospice Nurse. She has certifications in advanced life support, Basic life Support, Electric left ventricular device training, Certified Clínical Transplant Coordinator, and a HIV Counselor. Cecily's most recent experience has been with working as a Cardiac Transplant Coordinator. Cecily assisted with the restructure of the People's Health Clinic, especially on the Clínical side.

Nann Worel- Development Director

"I have so much respect for what the People's Health Clinic has meant to this community for years, and I am very excited about its future."

Holding Master's degrees in Nursing and Hospital Administration, Nann Worel has joined PHC after having helped to found and then operate a free clinic in Mobile, Alabama. The idea of starting that clinic, Victory Health Partners, came about when Nann and several others were on a 10-day medical mission in Central America. A discussion arose around this question: "When there are so many in the US without health insurance, why not try to address some of the medical needs closer to home?" Nann spent 5 years working to build Victory Health Partners, first as Development Director, then as a member of the Board of Directors. She now brings that wealth of experience to the People's Health Clinic.


Jennifer Knight -, Family Nurse Practitioner
"Having worked in an Emergency Room for over 7 years, I have seen the lack of access to primary health care in underserved populations. PHC is the only source of care that many residents of our community have. Some of our patients tell me that they don't know where else they would go, especially if they believe they might have a serious condition requiring a specialist. We are able to help them find their way through the medical system. Sometimes we can assist them financially through a fund we have set up, and we are almost always able to steer them towards specialists who will see them at lower cost."

Jennifer Knight holds a Master's degree as a Family Nurse Practitioner from the University of Utah. That degree follows a Bachelor's degree in Nursing from the same university, and a Bachelor's in Food Science from North Carolina State. While pursuing her medical degrees, she worked as a Nurse Educator in a Trauma 1 facility in Salt Lake City for 4 years, and as a Resort Nurse in Park City for 3 years. Jennifer provides clinical care at the People's Health Clinic.

Penny J. Peacock, M.D. - Tuesday Night General Medicine/Pediatrics Medical Director

"In my daytime practice as a pediatrician, many children who are covered by Medicaid are brought in by parents who neglect their own health due to lack of coverage. I am so pleased when I refer them to People's Health, and then see them come in to get care for their own medical concerns. Parents who care for themselves can better care for their children."

Dr. Penny Peacock graduated from Loyola College in Maryland with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Chemistry and was awarded summa cum laude honors in 1994. She went on to graduate from medical school at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 1998, and completed a residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Utah in 2002. Dr. Peacock currently co-owns a private practice in Park City, Utah where she provides primary care medical services to both adults and children. She has active privileges at four Salt Lake hospitals, providing well baby nursery care, as well as inpatient pediatric and internal medicine services. Dr. Peacock recently joined the People's Health Clinic, in its efforts to re-open the Family Practice/General Medicine clinic held every Tuesday Evening.

Gary Sharp, M.D. - Wednesday Night Prenatal Medical Director

"Every individual ought to have the best start in life that's possible. I can contribute to that by making sure more mothers get good prenatal care."

Dr. Gary Sharp received his medical degree from the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Maryland. He fulfilled his residency in Mississippi, completed a High-Risk Pregnancy fellowship in California and fulfilled his military service in Illinois, Idaho, Ohio, Germany and California. His various posts in the military included flight surgeon, high-risk obstetrics surgeon, and department chair. Dr. Sharp is currently the Obstetrics Program Director for the Family Medicine residents at McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden where he received a medical teaching award in 2006. For the past 3 years he has traveled with his wife, a nurse, to perform gynecology surgeries and some obstetrics in Ouelessebougou in Mali, in Africa and has been asked to lead the Medical Committee for the Ouelessebougou-Utah Alliance. At People's Health, Dr. Sharp is the Medical Director for the Wednesday Prenatal Night and is one of the medical advisors to the Board of Directors. Dr. Sharp designed the computer-based OB record keeping system used by the Clinic.

John Houchins, M.D. - Thursday Night Chronic Illness Medical Director

"Access to basic healthcare is the right of every human being and the obligation of any society holding itself up as a paragon of liberty. Until our government embraces this principle in a large-scale concrete way, donated and privately subsidized services are the only option for many of our country's residents to restore and maintain their wellness. Besides providing this care, our clinicians and staff serve as role-models for the many current and future healthcare students who get to see the power of self-giving in action. In these ways, I deeply believe that the kind of work done at People's Health Clinic serves as nothing less than the best hope for the future of universal access health care in America."

Originally from Chicago, Dr. Houchins attended medical school at Rush Medical College there, but was drawn to Utah's powder. He completed his residency in family practice at the University of Utah. For eleven years, Dr. Houchins practiced at the Community Health Centers of Salt Lake where he developed an interest in obstetrics as part of a family practice, performing approximately 200 deliveries per year. Dr. Houchins went on to join the faculty of the Department of Family Practice at the University of Utah, where he cares for patients, teaches, and is the Medical Director of the Physician's Assistant Program. When joined the People's Health Clinic as Thursday Night Medical Director in January of 2006, one of his goals was to provide a setting for University students to fulfill their service learning requirement. His role as Medical Director for the Thursday Diabetes and Hypertension Clinic has allowed him to focus attention on the care and education needs of the chronically ill.

Mariely Ferrer - Patient Services Coordinator

"On clinic nights, the atmosphere here is so friendly and professional. The volunteers, whether they are medical professionals or not, have such respect for our patients. And if the patient is diagnosed with a medical problem that cannot be addressed here, we do all we can to find them those services, whether it be a special blood test or surgery. Then we follow up to make sure the patient got what he or she needed. And the patients are grateful for that care."

Originally from Puerto Rico, Mariely spent years as an Obstetrics nurse in a hospital there before moving to New Jersey. At the Ambulatory Clinic, a clinic for the uninsured at the Atlanticcare Regional Medical Center, she nursed in the OB/GYN, Cardiac/ Pulmonary, Medical, GI/GU and Orthopedic units. Mariely has brought her wide experience to the People's Health, coordinating appointments, keeping records, facilitating clinic nights, translating, and doing blood work and EKGs. She is also a Diabetes Educator.

Elizabeth Isakson - Front Desk

"Working at the reception desk, I spend each evening signing patients in, accepting their donations, translating, and making followup appointments. I hear over and over again how grateful people are; they don't know what they would do if People's Health Clinic wasn't here. I know that many of them wouldn't go anywhere to get medical care; they can't afford it, or they're afraid to visit an unknown doctor. We are so very lucky to have a clinic like this in our community."

Elizabeth Isakson joined PHC after nine years as a WIC (Women, Infants, and Children Program) instructor and translator for the Summit County Health Department. The subjects of her lessons for parents ranged from prenatal and infant nutrition to dental care and automobile safety. She enjoyed the work tremendously, knowing that their new skills and knowledge would help parents create stronger, healthier families.

Born in Guatemala, Elizabeth immigrated to California with her parents at the age of 15. She studied Health Science and Spanish at Dixie College and Brigham Young University and worked in Oncology care at a local hospital while attending college. Besides her front desk responsibilities during clinic hours, Elizabeth works before and after clinics tp prepare charts and manage patient data to provide continuity of care to all our patients.

 


People's Health Clinic, PO Box 681558, 1251 Kearns Blvd., Park City, UT 84068 435-615-7822