From helping build LeConte Medical Center to supporting mammograms and new technology, Dolly’s medical legacy continues.

SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. (Smokies.LIVE Information Center) — Dolly Parton’s legacy in her hometown of Sevier County reaches far beyond music and entertainment.

For decades, Parton has played a role in strengthening health care in the community where she was born and raised — helping raise money for a new hospital, supporting medical equipment and services, and making sure people without the ability to pay can still receive care.

Today, that legacy can be seen throughout Covenant Health LeConte.

Parton helped raise money for the construction of the county’s current hospital, including a benefit concert that raised more than $1 million. The community ultimately came together to raise $10 million for the facility.

Aaron Burns with Covenant Health says the hospital would not be where it is today without Parton and the people of Sevier County.

“This facility would not be here without the influence of Dolly Parton as well as the residents of Sevier County,” Burns said.

A foundation tied to Dolly’s family doctor

Parton’s connection to Sevier County health care is also deeply personal.

The Dr. Robert F. Thomas Foundation is named for the physician who delivered Parton. Parton served for many years as honorary chairperson of the foundation, which was established to support the health care needs of Sevier County.

The foundation provides financial support for medical equipment, new construction, patient care and community health programs at LeConte Medical Center.

Among those programs is Paint the Mountains Pink, which helps provide mammograms to Sevier County residents who cannot afford them.

Burns says the foundation’s impact continues to grow.

“The Robert F. Thomas Foundation is really a lasting legacy that continues to give.”

The foundation has helped support mammography services and newer breast-imaging technology, including an automated breast ultrasound system, or ABUS machine, at the hospital’s Women’s Center.

Her name is part of the hospital

Parton’s connection to the hospital is visible the moment patients and families walk through the doors.

LeConte Medical Center is home to the Dolly Parton Center for Women’s Services and the Dolly Parton Birthing Center, bringing her name directly into the health care services provided to women and families in the region.

Parton also left a prayer in the hospital chapel, offering words of comfort to patients and families during difficult moments.

But Burns says Parton’s contribution to health care cannot simply be measured by the money she raised.

More than writing a check

Burns says Parton has also had a personal connection with patients and families.

He recalled stories of Parton visiting the old hospital and spending time with children and patients.

“She would go into a room and she’d want to know the name of every single patient,” Burns said. “She would visit every single patient.”

Burns says Parton would also read to families and new babies during her visits.

That personal connection is part of what makes Parton’s health care legacy especially meaningful in Sevier County.

She helped bring resources to a growing community, supported programs that provide care to people who otherwise might go without it, and helped create a medical legacy that continues long after the benefit concerts and fundraising campaigns.

For the people of Sevier County, Dolly Parton’s name is not simply displayed on a hospital wall.

It is attached to the care of women, the birth of children, cancer screenings, medical technology and assistance for families who need a helping hand.

And that may be one of the most lasting parts of Dolly Parton’s legacy in the place she has always called home.