Covenant Health LeConte administrator Aaron Burns discusses Parton’s lasting impact on health care in Sevier County.

SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. (Smokies.LIVE Health Center) — Dolly Parton’s impact on Sevier County extends beyond her work with children and literacy. Her contributions have also played a role in building and supporting health care services in the community.

Aaron Burns, chief administrative officer at Covenant Health LeConte, said Parton has helped support health care in Sevier County through the Robert F. Thomas Foundation, which has contributed to the hospital and continues to support patients and medical services.

Burns has served as chief administrative officer at Covenant Health LeConte since 2022.

“She’s also given back to the health care community in Sevier County, literally laying the foundation to build the hospital that we’re sitting in,” Burns said.

Parton has long served as an honorary chair of the Robert F. Thomas Foundation, which continues to raise money for patient needs, including assistance for people who cannot afford certain medical services.

The foundation supports the hospital’s Paint the Mounds Pink program, which helps provide mammograms for patients who otherwise may not be able to afford them.

Burns said the foundation has also helped support updated technology and equipment at the Dolly Parton Center for Women’s Services, including mammography equipment and automated breast ultrasound, or ABUS, technology.

The services give patients access to specialized women’s health care closer to home.

“You’re going to have to travel a lot of different places to find a hospital that is as well-equipped as a Covenant Health LeConte,” Burns said.

Burns said Parton’s influence also extends to encouraging others to support health care in the community.

“I think that’s one of the major legacies that Dolly has left here,” Burns said. “She encourages others to give.”

Covenant Health also continues to support the hospital through capital funding, helping maintain and expand services and technology available to patients.

For Burns, Parton’s legacy can be seen not only in the hospital’s name and facilities, but in the ongoing investments that help patients across Sevier County access care close to home.