UAB St. Vincent’s Women’s Health is expanding gynecologic services to UAB St. Vincent’s St. Clair. Dr. Sarah Whitehead will now be holding gynecology appointments at the Pell City hospital located at 7063 Veterans Parkway.
Whitehead is accepting new patients, and appointments can be scheduled by calling the main office at 205-939-7800. Patients should specify UAB St. Vincent’s St. Clair facility when making an appointment with Dr. Whitehead.
Whitehead is board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology and provides gynecologic care to girls and women of all ages.
She strives to provide compassionate service to her patients by listening to and understanding their needs.
She has a special interest in treating polycystic ovary syndrome and helping patients achieve their weight loss goals.
In today’s corporate-driven medical care climate, Pell City’ s Dr. Rock Helms is forging a new path in healthcare for the region by returning to the days of old – ways from which he never wavered.
He opened Helms Healthcare in Vincent in March and in less than 90 days, 1,000 patients had come on board. And they’re still coming.
It has been an ideal match for the tiny town of Vincent, population 2,500, and Helms Healthcare. The town had been without a doctor for 20 years. The closest medical facility was in Harpersville but for the most part, residents traveled to Sylacauga, Birmingham, Pell City and Chelsea for major medical needs, according to Mayor Jim Lattimer.
Dr. Rock Helms takes care of tiny patient
Helms Healthcare locating a block from the city’s main street has been “a big benefit for everybody,” the mayor said. “He’s part of the community. That’s what we want for every business.”
Helms lauded the efforts of the mayor and council. “I am super appreciative. The city has been amazing. They made it very, very easy to come here, and we owe them a debt of gratitude.”
To make the partnership come to fruition required some investment by the city to prepare. The long vacant building on Florey Street that the city owned needed repair. “We looked at it and saw the potential, but it needed quite a bit of work, and it needed it quickly” if Helms was to open in March.
That was January. The council voted unanimously to move ahead with the opportunity, and they replaced air conditioning, fixed water damage and made other improvements to get the 3,000 square foot building ready to open. “$60,000 was worth it to get a doctor in here.”
Helms invested as well and continues to add and upgrade to what is now a state-of-the-art medical clinic with a doctor, three nurse practitioners, two registered nurses, technicians and a full staff.
He takes pride in the personal approach the entire staff takes to serving its patients. “When you call, you get a real person,” he said, not a number to press.
Helms said he could not have envisioned a better welcome from the community and the region. “It’s amazing the flow of people coming in.” He anticipated existing patients from his years in Pell City would amount to about a third and “hopefully we would grow the clinic over a year’s time to be sustainable. It has exceeded expectations in multiples. It’s obvious we are going to be successful.”
A full, onsite lab makes testing convenient
The numbers bear that out. In the month of May, 30% came from around the area – Vincent, Harpersville and Chelsea. Now it’s “north of 40 percent and growing like crazy.”
Helms has brought cutting edge health care to the area, providing general and cardiac ultrasound, lab services, digital X-ray and IV infusion of fluids, including iron, Lasix, hydration. Soon to be added is wellness infusion therapy. Iron infusions done there can save patients a trip to the hematologist. They offer weight loss management as well.
“We have helped a lot of people,” Helms said. “The sole reason they haven’t seen a doctor is because they have to drive. We’ve seen several like that. Transportation is a huge barrier.”
Since opening, he has seen better medical outcomes because they can get the help they need close to home. “That’s our hometown doctor,” said Lattimer, a hint of pride in his voice.
“The people have been very appreciative,” Helms said. “They’ve helped me personally and professionally to re-establish a hometown practice like I started in 2001.”
History appears to be repeating itself. Fresh from medical school in 1999, Helms came back to his hometown of Pell City to begin practicing medicine. His vision then – as now – was that of a small-town doctor building relationships with his patients, listening to their needs and guiding their care toward positive outcomes.
It is family medicine at its core, treating patients like family because, in essence, they are.
In 2001, he founded Northside Medical Associates in Pell City, beginning with only a handful of providers and staff. He grew it into a thriving campus of medical facilities, a pharmacy, urgent care and multiple specialties and locations in other communities with over 200 employees.
He sold it, fulfilled his contract commitments and is now starting over with Helms Healthcare in Vincent and plans to locate another in Pell City.
There have been patients wondering if he will stay in Vincent. While he does have plans to open in Pell City later, he stressed, “we will keep this open. I know it’s the Lord’s will. It’s nothing short of a miracle we are growing like this.”
Latest addition to Pell City medical community puts focus on treating whole patient
Story and photos by Graham Hadley
When Dr. Shilpa Patel was offered the opportunity to open St. Clair Eye in the same building with Pell City Internal and Family Medicine in Pell City, making the decision was an easy one.
“We had recently moved to Odenville and saw there was a growing need for eye care in the county,” she said. “Dr. Rick Jotani at PCIFM said they had space there, and within a month we were rolling. There are lots of specialties in the building, and they needed eye care, so it really worked out great.”
Jordan Greer demonstrates a VR headset used for visual field testing
St. Clair Eye is a full-service vision medical center, with a focus on eye injuries and eye disease, often working in conjunction with other physicians. Patel is quick to point out that there are often many other health issues affecting the eye, so they make sure they are looking at the wellness of the whole patient.
“You have to tailor each exam to each patient and their needs,” she said.
To that end, St. Clair Eye makes sure they are able to treat patients with special needs, making sure the office is sensory inclusive, and their equipment is accessible to people with mobility issues as well.
“We are Kulture City certified,” she said, noting that doctor’s offices can be overwhelming for people on the autism spectrum, people with dementia and other cognitive conditions. Every patient who needs one is provided with a bag containing sunglasses, noise-reducing earphones, fidget toys and more – anything they need to be more comfortable during their visit.
According to the Kulture City website, certification makes sure businesses “cater to everyone with sensory needs, not just autism. This includes military vets with PTSD, adults with dementia, Parkinson’s disease, stroke patients, just to name a few.”
In addition to Patel and her staff being Kulture City certified, she is also fluent in American Sign Language.
“When treating patients, you have to have the right tools and skills to get the desired end result. And that varies on who you have in the chair. All of that comes with experience,” she said.
Though St. Clair Eye has only been open a few months in Pell City, Patel brings with her decades of experience as not only a medical professional in optometry, but also as “a distinguished scholar and fellow of the National Academies of Practice and a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry.” A Birmingham native, she is a graduate of UAB, Ohio State and Harvard.
She was in private practice in Birmingham for years and worked at the Callahan Eye Clinic.
The KultureCity sensory bags with ear and eye protection, fidget toys, and more
“Everyone in our office is local,” which makes them feel more connected to the community and patients. “We work as a team.”
Those connections to the community have always been important to Patel. She is particularly proud of her time volunteering for Red Mountain Museum, which eventually became part of what is the McWane Center today.
St. Clair is one of the fastest growing communities in Alabama, and as more people move to the area, so does the demand for medical services, particularly specialties like optometry.
“We do comprehensive eye exams, set people up with contacts and glasses, treat glaucoma, dry eyes and other vision issues. We see a lot of people with diabetic-related vision problems, and some people who just need regular checkups” and maintenance-level care.
“Most eye diseases progress gradually,” and many people don’t realize they have a problem until it has been going on for a long time, sometimes years, Patel said. As much as hands-on medical treatment is necessary, she says they also focus on educating their patients about not only specific problems with their eyes, but how their overall health can affect their vision. … We treat the whole patient, look at their overall wellness.”
Patel said St. Clair Eye has been growing quickly from day one. “We are getting busier every day. Marketing and word of mouth have been a huge help,” but so has support from the community.
“The Pell City Chamber of Commerce has been great. They were here for our open house” and have continued to support the new business, she said.
It’s been quite a ride, but the young man who at 15 had amassed dozens of championships in the rodeo circuit, is back home in Moody practicing chiropractic care as a full-fledged doctor of chiropractic.
Throughout his high school years, Cody Stubbs was a rodeo sensation – bull riding, chute dogging (steer wrestling), goat tying and, his absolute favorite, team roping, among other rodeo events.
Staff from left, Dr. Shawn Stubbs, Dr. Cody Stubbs, Ginny Pate and Misty Cunningham
Beyond the championship buckles and saddles, his talent earned him a scholarship to the University of West Alabama for undergraduate school, where he was pursuing orthopedic medicine.
By his second year of undergraduate studies, he realized his philosophy of care aligned more with chiropractic than traditional medicine – a more holistic approach of education, wellness and lifestyle. It turned out to be a “lightbulb” moment about his future.
It seemed a natural path to take. His mother, Dr. Shawn Stubbs, has owned Crossroads Chiropractic in Moody for the past 25 years. Cody “grew up” there, she said, flashing photos of him playing in the clinic as a toddler or sporting his name-embroidered shirt he wore to escort patients back to rooms as a youngster.
It’s always been like family around the clinic. Receptionist Ginny Pate used to be Cody’s nanny. Now she’s assisting all grown-up Dr. Cody.
He graduated from West Alabama in Livingston, where he met his future wife, Raven, who was a rodeo champion, too, having finished fourth in the world in Barrel Racing at the collegiate level.
Out of all of his buckles, the one he received for sportsmanship is Cody’s favorite
After college, he headed to Life University in Marietta, Ga., outside Atlanta, where he earned his doctorate.
Then, it was like homecoming, returning to Moody and Crossroads Chiropractic, where he settled in as “Dr. Cody” in October. “It’s the best job in the world,” Cody said. “I am fortunate to be able to do it and see people get better without surgery or drugs.”
His mother said she is fortunate to have him back home working with her. “I love it. It’s like a dream come true working with him, my son following in my footsteps. The patients request him, and I get to play with my grandbaby.”
That’s her plan, she said, spending more time with the grandchildren. “Cody’s handling it great, above expectations. He’s just wonderful. He is really good with the elderly population, very respectful.”
Cody Stubbs Chute Dogging Alabama State Champion at National Finals, Gallup, New Mexico, 2013
He enjoys working with the older patients, too. He makes them laugh and puts them at ease. The aging patient traditionally has a number of doctors’ appointments. His goal is to make the appointment with him one they don’t dread.
“Everybody leaves with a smile on their face after seeing him, besides feeling better,” Dr. Shawn said.
Returning home to a piece of land between Moody and Odenville has stirred those old cowboy memories in him, and he talks of getting a horse and roping again one day. “I’m a country boy,” he said. Atlanta was “a lot of city for me,” so it’s good to be home on the land among the animals and wide-open spaces.
But for now, he’s content to take care of priorities – tending to the practice, his wife and one-year-old, Weston, and a second baby on the way. “I’ll be back soon. I have other priorities to get to. Family comes first, then I’ll get back to it.
Jefferson State names nursing wing after former senator
Story by Carol Pappas Submitted photos
When Jim McClendon was first elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 2002, state Sen. Jack Biddle asked him what he wanted for his future in politics.
“I want your seat,” he told Biddle, one of the most powerful senators at the time. Biddle retorted, “You’re not ready yet. You don’t know where the money is.”
In the years that followed, Senator McClendon not only found the money, he invested it in what is becoming a lasting legacy for St. Clair County and the region.
Jefferson State Community College recognized the longstanding support of McClendon by naming the Nursing Wing at the St. Clair-Pell City Campus in his honor with a ceremony on Wednesday, Dec. 18.
Dr. McClendon has been an ardent supporter of Jefferson State initiatives for many years. He was instrumental in the opening of the St. Clair-Pell City Campus in 2009 and the establishment of the Nursing Wing in October 2017, an expansion that included two simulation labs, a fundamental instruction lab, two classrooms, six offices and a conference room.
Nursing students at the opening of the new wing in 2017
“Dr. McClendon was instrumental in Jefferson State starting in St. Clair County,” said Jefferson State President Keith Brown. “Because of his efforts, we’ve been able to educate hundreds of RNs, and they’re working and caring for people right here in this community.”
Just before unveiling the plaque commemorating the new name, Brown talked of McClendon’s dedication to education and health care in the form of support for the college. “It’s just my job,” Brown said McClendon told him.
“I’ve always had an affinity for nurses,” he joked to the crowd gathered for the ceremony. “I married one.”
Jefferson State’s first presence in the county was in Moody, but it was only temporary – representing a “foot in St. Clair County” – as McClendon described it. The college was built in 2009 with an LPN program. In 2012, the RN program became a reality, and the opening of St. Vincent’s St. Clair Hospital in 2011 and the Col. Robert L. Howard State Veterans Home in 2012 catalyzed the program’s growth.
“All of this was critical to educating these folks here and creating good jobs,” McClendon said. He noted that graduates have a 100 percent rate of job placement before graduation. “It’s a model for other state programs. They are educated here. They come back here. Health care in our area is getting better and better because of what’s going on at Jefferson State in Pell City.”
The college, he said, represents so many opportunities for St. Clair Countians. Many times, it is the first time higher education doors are open to families. “It’s changing Alabama. It’s changing our community. And they’re doing it the right way.”
A vision for the college
Looking back to the earliest conversations about locating a community college in St. Clair County, “there was always a recognition that there was a need for what a community college could bring to our region,” said Guin Robinson, dean of Economic Development at Jefferson State.
“Workforce development was at the top of that list,” Robinson said. “It was very obvious that health care was a driver for St. Clair County and the entire region, so it made sense there would be a need for nursing in Pell City and St. Clair County. It has certainly been a priority,” bolstered by the location of hospital and the state veterans home near the campus and doctors’ offices throughout the area.
The nursing program is expensive to operate and is not fully funded by tuition. The community’s and McClendon’s support have been “vitally important,” Robinson stressed. “Sen. McClendon has been our partner since the beginning. He could not have been a greater partner.”
McClendon’s influence and determination ensured that this legacy will continue, Robinson said. “And he did it without fanfare because we needed it for our community. He played a major role in the generational impact it is having in our community, and we wanted to honor him now so that we can show our appreciation.”
The McClendon story
Born in Mobile, McClendon earned his Bachelor of Science degree at Birmingham-Southern College in 1965 and his Doctor of Optometry degree from the University of Houston in 1967.
McClendon then joined the United States Navy Medical Service Corps in 1968 where he was commissioned as an officer. Lt. McClendon served with distinction in Vietnam, for which he was decorated with the Navy Commendation Medal with Combat Distinguishing Device.
Over the course of his optometry career, McClendon distinguished himself as a leader in Alabama›s optometry community, serving as president of the Alabama Optometric Association.
Retired senator chats with new senator, Lance Bell
In November 2002, McClendon retired from his private practice to pursue public service. That year, he was first elected to the Alabama House of Representatives, representing the state’s 50th District, where he was subsequently reelected for two additional terms.
Among other notable postings and accomplishments (including Chair of the House Ethics Committee and Chair of the House Redistricting Committee), Rep. McClendon served as Chair of the Health Committee, where he played a pivotal role in the passage of the Medicaid reform legislation.
In 2014, McClendon was elected to the Alabama Senate where he represented Alabama›s 11th District for two consecutive terms. He served on and provided leadership for various critical Senate committees, including the Rules Committee, Education and Youth Affairs, Fiscal Responsibility and Economics Development, Transportation and Energy, Health and Human Services, for which he served as Vice Chair, and the Senate Healthcare Committee for which he served as Chair.
McClendon personally introduced 210 bills in the House and Senate on a range of critical issues, including education, public safety, economic development, and, of particular personal importance to him, healthcare and the advancement of Alabama’s healthcare professions.
“During my time as a legislator, I always heard the importance of job creation, employment and improving Alabama by creating good jobs,” said McClendon. “That’s exactly what Jeff State is doing, and it is a model for all other programs in the state.”
In an open field of tall grass, mud puddles and woods all around, three dedicated physical therapists meet on a Sunday afternoon miles away from the clinics where they work all week long.
Intertwined with the disciplined calls of hunting dogs, they discover solace in a shared passion. Well beyond their clinic walls, where muscles are mended and limbs rehabilitated, they embark on a journey into the wilderness.
It is here in the shadow of towering pines with five dogs among them, they train for the thrill of the hunt, forging an unspoken bond – not just with nature, but with each other. The scene is a powerful testament to their dual passions.
Tyler takes a shot
The sun peeks through a scattering of clouds, illuminating a scene in which they all have played a central role dozens of times before. They’re training for their next big bird hunt.
Their journey together has taken them far away from the St. Clair County clinics of Therapy South, where they work. Their hunts have taken them to Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Michigan and Oklahoma so far.
“We train out here,” said Tyler McGrady, motioning toward the field and woods that are part of the 70 acres he and his family own just north of Pell City. Wild birds are not as plentiful in the South as in other parts of the country, which necessitates the travel. But they don’t seem to mind. It simply brings them closer together.
Tyler readily shares his land with fellow PTs, Cade Mullins and Luke Brasher. Tyler is a partner in Therapy South, and he oversees the clinics in Pell City and Springville, where Mullins and Brasher work.
Cade, Covey and Coosa
They joke that bird hunting isn’t a prerequisite for getting hired, it just happened that they all share the same after-hours sport.
On the job, you’ll find them bantering back and forth as they apply their healing touch to patients. The camaraderie is infectious. In an instant, patients join in the conversations about dogs, hunting and the great outdoors, perhaps helping them forget the pain and rise above their own physical limits, if only for a moment.
Tyler calls it “good-spirited ribbing.” A former baseball player at Jacksonville State University, he noted that all three of them are former college athletes and “too much time in the locker room” may be the catalyst for their approach in the clinic and on the hunt.
Luke, who played football at UAB, agreed. “We miss the time spent with teammates,” he said. Mullins played baseball at Delta State. “It gives us a deeper sense of teamwork,” added Tyler.
Once on the hunt, the teamwork becomes man and dog. The pride in each of their ‘best friends’ is evident. Tyler’s Maverick and Charlie are German Short Haired Pointers, whose grace and ability blend perfectly in pointing or hunting quail.
Cade’s Covey and Coosa are Wire Haired Pointing Griffons, whose loping gallop through a mud puddle or two, seems natural for a breed with an insular coat and webbed toes. Griffons love the water, and on this day, Covey’s penchant for puddles shows.
Luke and Duke
The pup of the bunch, an English Setter named Duke, belongs to Luke, who he is training himself. As he watches Duke circling through the tall grass – nose up to catch a whiff of a downed bird – Luke’s watchful eye has the noticeable glint of a proud Papa. After all, their dogs are family.
“My wife loves dogs,” Cade said. “They sleep in the bed with us.”
Tyler’s wife is “super understanding” about his past time, he said, and they’ve just added to their brood – a pup named Goose. His daughters, Brooke and Maggie, make it a family affair. They’ve developed a passion for assisting in training the dogs.
Luke’s wife didn’t really want a dog, he said. “Now she takes 20 pictures a day of him because she loves him that much.”
The three of them muse about the rewards reaped from their training and their hunts. “It’s your relationship with your dog. Your dog is your best friend,” said Tyler. “When you see what they were born and bred to do, when it all comes together in the field, it’s pretty cool to watch.” You’re able to turn off the outside world. “You’re in the prairie in the middle of nowhere with your dog.”
Cade loves “getting out and enjoying creation. Every time you go out, you pick something that stands out – a dog pointing – it points back to creation, this awesome place created for us.”
“It’s fun walking through the Lord’s creation,” said Luke. “It’s cool to see something that is innate in their nature – pointing and finding a bird.”
It allows you to become “disconnected from the world,” Tyler concluded.
They all have a healthy respect for Tyler’s dog, Maverick. Describing him as a stud with a championship bloodline, Luke noted, “If Maverick doesn’t point, there’s not a bird there. He’s pretty much a sure shot.”
How did they arrive at this place of solace and excitement entwined?
Duke standing behind grass
Tyler already had a dog when he got into bird hunting, encouraged by another physical therapist, Daniel Eck, who works in Therapy South’s Florence clinic. The two had played ball together in college. He’s been hunting ever since.
Cade grew up deer and turkey hunting on the family farm near Lake Martin. “I got tired of picking up birds and said, ‘Let’s get dogs and do this.’ ”
For Luke, the fascination began when he was 9. A neighbor had Brittany and Boykin Spaniels involved in field trials, and he would take him along. He strayed away from the sport for years, but Cade and Tyler “nagged that I needed a bird dog. It was the only way to be in the crew. So, I gave into peer pressure,” he joked, “but it was worth it.”
It’s all about the relationship with the dog and the excitement of anticipating what is to come, Tyler explained. In a world of otherwise instant information, “It’s the hope of what could be. You never know what the difference is going to be.”
