Rural Health Worker of the Year

ROGERSVILLE – Dr. Mark Dalle-Ave, a family medicine physician in Rogersville as well as a clinical associate professor of medical education and preceptor for Rural Primary Care Track students at East Tennessee State University’s Quillen College of Medicine, has been recognized for his efforts in the area of rural health.

Dalle-Ave was awarded the Rural Health Worker of the Year award by the Rural Health Association of Tennessee (RHAT). The award is bestowed upon an individual who has made an outstanding contribution of major significance to rural health.

Dalle-Ave began working in Rogersville in 1995 and has been serving the community ever since. He is a founding member of the ETSU Health Center in Rogersville, an initiative between ETSU and Hawkins County that aimed to provide clinical and community-based education experiences for health sciences students as well as quality care to the community. Today, Dalle-Ave continues to work with ETSU students and serves as co-director of ETSU’s Rural Primary Care Track in Rogersville.

Dalle-Ave is a full-time family physician at the Rural Health Services Consortium, a Federally Qualified Community Health Center. He is also the team physician for Cherokee High School Athletics and serves as the medical examiner for Hawkins County.

“It is without a doubt that the work of Dr. Dalle-Ave has improved the health of his community,” said Dr. Joe Florence, professor of family medicine and director of rural programs for the College of Medicine. “His innovative approach to caring for individual patients and the community as a whole has provided outstanding benefits to the public’s health.”

Third-year medical student Kaitlyn Shirely called Dalle-Ave “the most encouraging physician I have ever worked with,” noting that he starts nearly every patient encounter with some sort of affirmation.

“His encouragement of his patients motivates them to continue making positive changes to their health, and his encouragement of me motivates me to continue to grow in my medical knowledge and skills,” she said. “He cares about his patients as people and remembers an amazing number of things they have told him about their lives. I’ve watched his patients light up when he asks about their grandchildren or their hobbies.

“I can think of no physician more deserving of this award.”

Last month, RHAT held its annual conference in Pigeon Forge, where Dalle-Ave received the award. The organization is the only group in Tennessee that specifically focuses on rural citizens.