Chapter 8: "The Clinic"

Doctor Mark Jennings was born and raised in the town of Magnolia. While attending the county's schools, his teachers quickly realized what a bright student he was. It was another time back then. People were different and when he made the National Honor Society the whole town was proud of him. Even though it was a poor community, when he graduated, they took up a collection to help him with his college expenses. It had humbled him deeply. He was from poor parents himself and knew how hard everyone worked and how hard life was for the poor people of Magnolia. Mark Jennings never forgot what his home town did for him.

The scholarship he got to Emory University helped get him through college but it was the town's help that got him through medical school. Had he not been urged by his instructors to specialize, he would have become a family practitioner and returned to his hometown to start his practice.

And, in some ways, he had regretted that decision. But, when in January of 2008 old Doc Harris died and he heard the town was going to be without a doctor and the hospital was to be closed, Mark Jennings decided it was time to pay the people he owed so much too back.

As a doctor, he knew that the town was just too small to support a full time hospital and had no illusions about it reopening as such. The Harris family had been trying to sell the building unsuccessfully for months; but, there were no takers. After all, who needs an empty hospital in the middle of nowhere? So, when Dr. Mark Jennings made them an offer for it they went for it like sharks at feeding time.

The doctor would have gladly paid twice the price they were asking for the hospital. He knew the building alone was worth it. He wanted to surprise the town so he made sure the sales contract included a twenty percent penalty should the sellers disclose to anyone that he was the buyer until 90 days after the date of sale.

Since most everyone that worked for the county was somehow related to old man Harris, it wasn't hard to keep the sale secret. The whole county was surprised when he opened the hospital as a free clinic and began providing medical services at the hospital on Fridays and half-day Saturdays.

He didn't have a lot of experience at family practice, but his partner, Victoria Mercer did. It was only a few years ago that she had moved from family practice to urology. "Vicky", as her friends knew her, had mentioned that she missed it sometimes. When Mark told her that he could use her help, she jumped at the chance. She even got her husband Lyle to help them get supplies for the clinic at little or no cost. He worked for a pharmaceutical supplies service and had convinced the owner, his father, that it would be good press for the company to be seen doing some charity work.