Stories of Remarkable Care

If you’ve been in North Carolina long enough, or you’re well-versed in behavioral health reform, you probably know the story of Willie M. Willie M. was one of four children in North Carolina who was deemed delinquent — a lost cause — back in 1978.

“I only ever went to the doctor when absolutely necessary — for vaccinations or when I was pregnant,” Judy recalls. “I was always one who felt that my health was my responsibility. I ate well. I exercised and, usually, I never got anything more than a cold.”

After 20 years without seeing a doctor, Judy Caswell visited Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center due to unexpected changes in her health. She was 53 years old and had just run a marathon with her son.

In 2017, Michael Jordan donated $7 million to Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center Foundation to help build two health care clinics to serve Charlotte’s most at-risk and in-need communities. Last month, the first of these clinics opened to the public on Charlotte’s west side.

In October, we talk a lot about breast cancer survivors. Patty Donoghue is a survivor of a different kind. She had a difficult childhood, part of which was spent in foster care. Her last years in high school put her through a lot. She managed to graduate, but from a nonaccredited children’s home.

Dr. Patricia Flowers was religious about her mammograms. She had been since she turned 32. Then, in the summer of 2014, she found a lump in her breast. Her annual mammogram was just a few weeks away, but she decided to move it up.

We want our patients and their guests to know your feedback is important to us and through our patient satisfaction surveys, we heard there is a critical need for transportation within and outside of Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center.

At Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center Foundation, we are advocates for the power of mammograms for every woman, regardless of her ability to pay. That’s why we work every day to increase access to mammograms for under and uninsured women across our region.