A Hospital for Ashe County: Four Generations of Appalachian Community Health Care

When Ashe County Memorial Hospital opened in November 1941, it was the realization of a dream for the poor, sparsely populated county in northwestern North Carolina. Building a hospital is a major feat for any community in any time, but marshaling the resources to accomplish this in the waning days of the Great Depression, with the country on the brink of entering World War II, and local resources taxed by catastrophic floods and severe snows, is a story that should be told. Set against the backdrop of healthcare in Appalachia for the last one hundred plus years, the story follows four generations of physicians and surgeons in the family of Dr. Arthur Lee Bud Jones, whose destinies are interwoven with healthcare in the region and the planning, building, and operation of Ashe Memorial Hospital. This legacy, brought to life with over one hundred photographs and over one hundred personal interviews, traces the evolution of community healthcare from the days of folk remedies and midwives to horseback doctors and hospitals to the technological advances and outreach efforts of todays Ashe Memorial Hospital, a testament to the people of Appalachia, who continue to take care of their own.