Editor’s Note: This October, we will celebrate our 30th class of 40 Under Forty honorees. Each week in 2022, The Business Journal of Tri-Cities Tennessee/Virginia will highlight one of our 2021 40 Under Forty honorees leading up to the announcement of our milestone class this fall.
When Dr. Paige Gilbert-Green was a young child, she was exposed to two things that changed the course of her life forever.
The first was watching her mother go from being a nurse to a nurse practitioner, administering health care to her neighbors and teaching it at a local community college. The second was the great need for health care in the small corner of rural Southwest Virginia where she grew up.
Seeing compassionate care modeled for her and the need for that care spurred Gilbert-Green on toward her career as a physician.
“I cannot remember a time when I did not want to be a doctor,” Gilbert-Green said. “I grew up watching healthcare and seeing the healthcare disparities. I came from a very small area in rural Southwest Virginia where there are not a lot of physicians and there are almost no specialists. People travel for healthcare a ton.”
Watching her grandfather, a former coal miner, die at the age of 69 due to pneumonia on top of pre-existing respiratory disease also helped fuel her desire to help underserved populations. After medical school, Gilbert-Green started out providing care to underserved populations in Kingsport as a part of ETSU’s Family Medicine Residency Program in Kingsport, and she loved her work.
But as a child of a medical professional, Gilbert-Green saw the need for her two young children to be able to see their mother more. Working on nights, weekends and holidays was taking its toll.
So Gilbert-Green joined two other female physicians – Drs. Leigh Johnson and Cristian Robinette – to start Highlands Family Medicine in Johnson City.
“We wanted to have a place where we could serve the people of Johnson City and everyone could feel welcome,” Gilbert-Green said. “Regardless of your background or what you’ve been through, we want you to find a medical home with us.”
Gilbert-Green’s impact on the community does not end with the award-winning medical care she provides her patients. Her nominators applauded her wide-ranging volunteer efforts to help Johnson City and the region as a whole. Gilbert-Green helps out at RAM clinics, supports the Niswonger Children’s Hospital’s annual Radiothon and lends a hand with too many community organizations to mention.
Although she has plenty to be proud of, Gilbert-Green credits the countless female physicians in her life, starting with her mother, who have provided an example of how to achieve her goals at home, at the office and in her community.
“It’s not an job to be a physician and raise children and do all the things to have a happy home and have a happy career,” Gilbert-Green said. “I’m grateful for a lot of excellent examples, my mother being one of them.”
Next week we will profile Ashley Grindstaff of the Mall at Johnson City. If you would like to nominate someone for inclusion in the 2022 class of 40 Under Forty, visit 40under.com and follow the instructions.
