connections fw 07X.indd - Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet

Above, Dr. Roseanne Cook reviews patientcharts at the end of a busy day.Left, Sisters Jane Kelly and Cecil Cusson, DHS gothrough a new batch of donated prescriptions.Cusson is the resident “pill popper,” spendinghours each week removing pills from their foilwrappers so they can be more easily dispensed.responsibilities, her regular hours atboth clinics, nursing home rounds andthe occasional house call, Cook puts in60 hours a week on average.Few doctors will commit to thelong hours, low pay and countrylifestyle. Some may make an initialcommitment, but with looming studentloans and the lure of larger paychecks,they leave for the cities after one or twoyears. Cook recalls, “When I came toPine Apple, the first thing my patientssaid to me was, ‘Well, how long are yougoing to stay?’”She believes that homegrowndoctors are the answer—people who arewilling to settle down and plant roots inthe community. “Jane and I are takingcare of the third generation of somefamilies,” Cook states proudly. “We, too,become a part of their family in a sense,part of the community network.”Over the years Cook has become abeloved figure in the community—thequintessential “small town” doctor. “It’ssort of like when you are watching amovie on TV and everybody in townknows the doctor,” says Daisy Harris,the business manager at the Pine Appleclinic. “It’s a neighborly type thing.”6SISTERS OF ST. JOSPEH OF CARONDELET