Passionate About Providing

Alan Fox, RN
Holston Valley Medical Center

I am very pleased with Wellmont Health System’s perpetual increase in the area of customer satisfaction as demonstrated by an exponential rise in our Press Ganey scores. Our facility receives countless letters from patients, families and others praising us for our unending dedication to our patients.

But we do not stop there. By asking our customers for feedback, we invite criticism. Although negative responses are infrequent, we use them to focus on any discrepancies or flaws of which we might be unaware.

I say that I am pleased but I am not at all surprised by the overwhelming response from our community. Our staff is passionate about providing the absolute best care for our patients and their families. We are privileged to have some of the finest physicians, nurses, therapists, technicians and ancillary staff, ready at a moment’s notice to take on any situation with grace, diligence and outright tenacity.

As an employee at Holston Valley Medical Center, I share in the responsibility of maintaining the highest standards of care. I am part of a legacy of exemplary management and delivery of health care for this region and extending across the nation.

When I think of being the leader for healthcare in the nation, I could easily become overwhelmed. But, I don’t set my sights on changing all health care. I know that I cannot change the world…but I can make a difference in just one person’s life today. With that in mind, I take every opportunity available to me to take the time, put forth that little extra effort for someone that needs it. One does not have to look very long to find someone in need. The needy will find you…if you let them.

When dealing with injured or sick loved ones, families are so vulnerable and exhausted from hours spent in waiting rooms, questioning fears in their minds. They desperately need the assurance that someone is there who is totally invested in the well-being of that person. Patients and families read tone of voice, body language and other mannerisms as a contract.

Without a word, I must ask my patients and their families for their permission to care for them each day. To them I must vow to do everything within my being to treat them with respect and dignity. I must care for them as I would my own family. I am their advocate, their coach and their pupil. This unspoken pact I make with each of them in the first moments of my introduction.

In 17 years as a registered nurse, I have yet to be denied permission to care for someone. As I continue my journey, I have had, on occasion, patients and their families request for me to take care of them. To me, that is one of the greatest compliments.