Many pediatricians devote significant portions of their professional lives to address the many pressing needs of children. Chattanooga has been blessed with many fine examples of this type of advocacy, including Dr. Jeannette Martin, the former head of ambulatory pediatrics at T.C. Thompson Children’s Hospital. Dr. Martin, who retired in May, has had a celebrated career as a champion for children, including an important role in the development of the Vance-Stafford General Pediatric Center in 2006.

Dr. Martin did not begin her career with pediatrics in mind. When she decided to attend medical school in the 1960s at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis, she was shocked that friends and family thought she would make a good pediatrician. Initially, she thought she would pursue internal medicine.

Dr. Martin discovered how much she enjoyed working with children during a three-year term in general practice in eastern Kentucky. From there, Dr. Martin’s career in pediatrics continued to flourish. During a three-year residency in pediatrics in Memphis, she became the first female chief resident in the pediatric department. She remained in private practice in Memphis for 13 years.

In the early 1970s, Dr. Martin left private practice to do a fellowship in pediatric endocrinology. Following that, she went to West Memphis, Arkansas, to head the pediatric clinic at the health department. Dr. Martin also practiced urgent care at Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center in Memphis, but in 1997, she decided to return home to Chattanooga.

“I called Dr. Billy Arant at T.C. Thompson,” Dr. Martin recalls. Dr. Arant, who was chairman and medical director at the time, had known Dr. Martin as a pediatric resident. She asked if he remembered her and recalls a long silence on the other end of the phone. “Jeannette, I could never forget you,” Dr. Arant replied. So in 1996, Dr. Martin began her career at T.C. Thompson Children’s Hospital as head of ambulatory pediatrics. After thirteen years of serivce, Dr. Martin retired in May of this year.

During her career, Dr. Martin’s dedication to pediatrics culminated in the renovation of the Vance-Stafford General Pediatric Center, a general pediatrics clinic that opened in October of 2006 at T.C. Thompson Children’s Hospital. The clinic is named after two remarkable pediatricians, Dr. Minnie Vance and Dr. Eleanor Stafford, the first female pediatricians in Chattanooga. Dr. Martin knew and worked with both doctors for many years.

Dr. Martin notes that Drs. Vance and Stafford were the “quintessential pediatricians” – caring, compassionate and concerned. Their legacy in Chattanooga lies in their dedication to the care of children in need. For decades, they operated a clinic that served children whose parents did not have the ability to pay for their services.

As plans developed for renovating the general pediatrics clinic at T.C. Thompson Hospital, Dr. Martin and many others were inspired to create a way to honor these women for their many years of service. When Dr. Stafford was diagnosed with cancer, the idea to name the clinic after her and Dr. Vance became obvious.

Dr. Martin, along with Betsy Taylor, chief development officer at Erlanger, and Anne Vance Bright, Dr. Vance’s daughter, were instrumental in raising funds for the clinic’s renovation. Donations came from a wide spectrum of people who knew and worked with Drs. Vance and Stafford.

Today, the Vance-Stafford General Pediatric Center sees over 9,000 patients annually. It is designed to serve children with limited or no access to health care; most are underinsured or have no insurance. It is also the core clinical training facility for the UT College of Medicine Pediatric Residency Program and is crucial to the recruitment of residents, which Dr. Martin is quick to point out is very competitive.

The Vance-Stafford General Pediatric Center is a bright and cheerful place for children. A mural of children playing in the fountains at Coolidge Park dominates the large and colorful playroom where children can read and play while waiting. The clinic provides books in both English and Spanish through the Reach Out and Read program, as well as books from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. The examination rooms are painted in bright colors and have televisions for parents to view educational videos.

From the standpoint of the doctors and nurses, one of the most popular and appreciated features is a light system that allows them to see which rooms are available, which are in use, and which have patients waiting.

What does retirement hold for Dr. Martin after her long and esteemed career in pediatrics? She plans to continue working with two programs close to her heart: Smoke Free Homes and the Child Abuse Review Team (CART) affiliated with Tennessee’s Department of Children’s Services. The Smoke Free Homes campaign teaches physicians and caregivers how to ask if anyone in the home smokes and provides education and resources for parents and patients to quit smoking. CART works with children in protective care services and foster care.

Dr. Martin also plans to do some traveling, but most importantly, she says she plans to enjoy Chattanooga where she has dedicated much of her life to children and a community that she loves.