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Size | 620 items (2.2 linear feet) |
Abstract | Richard Davidson (1947-), a medical physician and educator, was among the founding participants of the Vanderbilt Student Health Coalition at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. (1970-1971) and the Mountain People's Health Council in eastern Tennesee (1975-1976). The Student Health Coalition focused on training medical professionals and medical students for community organizing around local health fairs in isolated Appalachian communities in Tennessee and Virginia. The fairs brought health care to communities that otherwise would have gone without due to location or economic status. The Mountain People's Health Council follows a model similar to the Student Health Coalition. Both the Student Health Coalition and the Mountain People's Health Council continue to provide these services to communities and remain active today. This collection contains images taken by Richard Davidson documenting the activities of the Vanderbilt Student Health Coalition from 1970 to 1971 and the Mountain People's Health Councils from 1975 to 1976. The images depict scenes at fairs and meetings in various locations around Tennessee, including Briceville, Clairfield, Murfreesboro, Norma, Petros, Smithville, Sneedville, Stoney Fork, and White Oak. The photographs were taken by Davidson. Materials include black-and-white and color 35mm slides, a photographic album consisting of prints from slides, some articles about the work of the Student Health Coalition, and a digital sideshow containing images compiled by Davidson for a reunion in 2012. |
Creator | Davidson, Richard, 1947- |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Patrick Cullom, February 2015
Encoded by: Patrick Cullom, February 2015
Updated by: Jodi Berkowitz, June 2017
Back to TopThe following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
Richard Davidson was born in West Palm Beach, Fla., in 1947. His father was the first cardiologist in Palm Beach County, Fla. He attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. undergraduate and medical schools, as well as a residency in internal medicine.
During the summer of his second year in medical school he was asked to participate in a rural health project by a classmate, Patrick Maxwell. The project was developed by William Dow, another Vanderbilt Medical student, with input from others, and was based on community organizing around local health fairs in isolated Appalachian communities. The first full summer of Vanderbilt Student Health Coalition health fairs took place in the summer of 1970. In 1971 Richard Davidson assumed the co-leadership role for the project with an undergraduate student, Carolyn Klyce. They raised more than $100,000 in grant funds and doubled the numbers of health fairs, using two concurrently running fairs, with over 110 students participating.
After completing his medical school and two years of residency, Davidson moved to east Tennessee and practiced in the three communities of Petros, Stoney Fork and Norma, providing supervision for three nurse practitioners. These clinics were organized under one administrative structure known as the Mountain People's Health Councils, which is still operating 35 years after the initial structure was formed. At one point, 26 rural communities had developed local clinics after organizing efforts by the Coalition.
After his residency Davidson moved to the University of North Carolina where he was a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar and helped students develop similar rural projects there, until he moved to the University of Florida in 1984. He continued his interest in rural health, directing a program called the Community Health Scholars program, funded by the Area Health Education Centers. This program placed students in rural communities to assist the community in developing solutions for locally-determined projects. Because of his early involvement in joint practice with nurse practitioners, in 1996 Davidson and colleagues developed one of the first interprofessional education programs in the United States, which has persisted for more than 15 years.
Davidson retired in 2013 after serving for six years as the Associate Vice President for Health Affairs (Interprofessional Education) at the University of Florida Health Science Center.
Back to TopThis collection contains images taken by Richard Davidson documenting the activities of the Vanderbilt Student Health Coalition from 1970 to 1971 and the Mountain People's Health Councils from 1975 to 1976. The images depict scenes at fairs and meetings in various locations around Tennessee, including Briceville, Clairfield, Murfreesboro, Norma, Petros, Smithville, Sneedville, Stoney Fork, and White Oak. The photographs were taken by Davidson. Materials include black-and-white and color 35mm slides, a photographic album consisting of prints from slides, some articles about the work of the Student Health Coalition, and a digital sideshow containing images compiled by Davidson for a reunion in 2012. Also included are some newspaper articles related to the activities of the Student Health Coalition.
Back to TopArrangement: Original.
Slides are grouped according to order imposed by creator. Slides appear to have been compiled to highlight the activities of the Appalachian Southern Health Coalition mostly between 1970-1971 and were used for sideshow presentations about the group.
There is a photograph album containing prints made from the slides in the collection and a digital sideshow made from the images in the collection. Also included are some newspaper articles related to the activities of the Student Health Coalition.
Color Film Box
1
Slide 05613/0001 |
Student Health Coalition: Pre-health Fairs, Murfreesboro, Tenn., circa summer 1970Black-and-White / Color 35mm Slides 40 images Descriptions by Richard (Rick) Davidson (November 2014): Numbering corresponds to original frame numbers on materials
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Color Film Box
1
Slide 05613/0002 |
Student Health Coalition: Activities and People, Smithville, Tenn., circa summer 1970Black-and-White / Color 35mm Slides 35 images Descriptions by Richard Davidson (November 2014): Numbering corresponds to original frame numbers on materials
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Color Film Box
1
Slide 05613/0003 |
Student Health Coalition: Activities and People, Clairfield, Tenn., circa summer 1970Black-and-White / Color 35mm Slides 38 images Descriptions by Richard Davidson (November 2014): Numbering corresponds to original frame numbers on materials Davidson: "Clairfield was the first "mountain" location we visited. Many were reasonably anxious. As I recall, Marie Cirillo, the nun who was instrumental in attracting us to the area, had her house burned down shortly before we came."
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Color Film Box
1
Slide 05613/0004 |
Student Health Coalition: Activities and People, White Oak, Tenn., circa summer 1970Black-and-White / Color 35mm Slides 31 images Descriptions by Richard Davidson (November 2014): Numbering corresponds to original frame numbers on materials
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Color Film Box
1
Slide 05613/0005 |
Student Health Coalition: Activities and People, Briceville, Tenn., circa summer 1970Color 35mm Slides 27 images Descriptions by Richard Davidson (November 2014): Numbering corresponds to original frame numbers on materials
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Color Film Box
1
Slide 05613/0006 |
Student Health Coalition: Activities and People, Sneedville , Tenn. / Deer Lodge, Tenn. / Habershalm, Tenn., circa summer 1970Black-and-White / Color 35mm Slides 31 images Descriptions by Richard Davidson (November 2014): Numbering corresponds to original frame numbers on materials Davidson: "I have many slides from Deer Lodge. Because it was relatively close to Nashville, many Vanderbilt faculty came to visit the health fair at Deer Lodge. My father, who was a cardiologist, also came to visit. We had frequent lectures and learning sessions during this time, which was a welcome addition. For reasons I cannot exactly remember (possibly ran out of color film) almost all the slides from Deer Lodge are in black-and-white."
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Color Film Box
1
Slide 05613/0007 |
Student Health Coalition: End of Year Debriefing, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn., circa summer 1971Color 35mm Slides 12 images Descriptions by Richard Davidson (November 2014): Numbering corresponds to original frame numbers on materials
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Color Film Box
1
Slide 05613/0008 |
Student Health Coalition: Spring party / Planning for year two, circa summer 1971Color 35mm Slides 23 images Descriptions by Richard Davidson (November 2014): Numbering corresponds to original frame numbers on materials
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Color Film Box
1
Slide 05613/0009 |
Student Health Coalition: Hancock City, Tenn. / Byrd's party, Briceville, Tenn / Sneedville, Tenn., circa summer 1971Color 35mm Slides 36 images Descriptions by Richard Davidson (November 2014): Numbering corresponds to original frame numbers on materials
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Flat Box
1
Photograph Album PA-05613/0001 |
Student Health Coalition: Photograph album: Activities and People, circa 1970sBlack-and-White Photographic Prints 185 images Majority of prints appear to have been made from slides |
Print Box
1
Folder 05613/0013 |
Student Health Coalition: Printed materials, 1970, 1975, 1978Printed Materials 5 items Publications/items included: Southern Exposure, Summer, 1978; vol VI, No.2; Palm Beach Post, September 1970; Letyer from U.S. Senator Howard Baker (Tenn.) 27 January 1975; Oak Ridger, 14 July 1971; Tennessee Valley Perspective, Fall 1976, Vol. 7, No. 1 |
Digital Item DI-05613/0001 |
Digital sideshow: Student Health Coalition: 1970-1971, circa 1970s (images) and 12 November 2012 (.mp4 file)Digital Images Runtime 48:30 Video created for Student Health Coalition reunion event in 2012 using Davidson's photographs from the 1970s. |
Image Folder PF-5613/1 |
Student Health Coalition: Deer Lodge, Tenn., 197127 photographs Description by the donor, Richard (Rick) Davidson: "Those are all pictures that were taken by my father and myself when he was visiting health fairs in Deer Lodge. They were taken in the summer of 1971, the second year of the TVA van health fairs. That was the year that Carolyn Klyce and I were co-directors. Some of the color ones were taken at Frozen Head State Park. They include my parents and Mary Ruth's parents." Individuals in the photographs include Rick Davidson, Tom John, Mary Ruth, Betsy Scott, and Carolyn Burr. Received in June 2017 (Acc. 103089). |
Arrangement: Original.
Slides are grouped according to order imposed by creator. Slides appear to have been compiled to highlight the activities Mountain People's Health Council in Tennessee and Virginia, between 1975-1976, and were used for sideshow presentations.
Color Film Box
1
Slide 05613/0010 |
Mountain People's Health Councils: Activities and People: Stoney Fork and Briceville, Tenn., circa 1975-1976Color 35mm Slides 19 images Descriptions by Richard Davidson (November 2014): Numbering corresponds to original frame numbers on materials Davidson: "These pictures were taken mostly in 1975, some in 1976. I had left my residency and was the physician for Mountain People's Health Councils, a clinic collaborative that included three clinics: Norma, in Scott County; Stoney Fork, in Campbell County, and Petros, in Morgan County. I lived in Lake City and spent a day and a half in each clinic per week. We had nurse practitioners in Petros and Stoney Fork and a midwife from Frontier Nursing in Norma. MPHC is still operating, although all the clinics now are located in Scott County."
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Color Film Box
1
Slide 05613/0011 |
Mountain People's Health Councils: Landscapes, Tenn., circa February - May 1975Color 35mm Slides 23 images Davidson: "These are all assorted pictures that I took in the mountains during my time with Mountain People's Health Councils." |