“LOVING AND taking care of God’s people is in our DNA,” Patricia Simmons said. When she and her husband, Robert, retired to Shelbyville from Los Angeles, California, a decade ago, they felt the Holy Spirit guiding them. Though they packed everything they owned, kissed their family goodbye, and traveled 2,000 miles, their faith never wavered.
“We didn’t know anyone, but were led to move here. We are the parents of three daughters, five grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.”
When she retired, Patricia had more than 50 years of experience in health care. “I have worked in every area in hospitals, from the emergency department to workers’ compensation, to radiation oncology. Robert’s degree is in pastoral ministry. He worked for the Los Angeles Mission located on skid row, where he taught over 300 men in the recovery program for drug and alcohol addiction for over 20 years.”
The devoted couple was not quite sure what God had planned, but they didn’t have to wait long to find out. A mutual love of turnip greens and a chance encounter in the Kroger parking lot changed everything.
“Once we got settled in Shelbyville, going back to work wasn’t on my radar. I told everyone in Los Angeles that the only way I would go back was the job would have to knock on my door and drag me out. In 2018, we met Mrs. Gladys Flask, and she introduced me to her daughter, Mrs. Fredia Lusk.”
Lusk has served as the executive director of the Community Clinic of Shelbyville and Bedford County (CCSBC) for nine years. Located at 202 Dover St., on the second floor in Suite 202, the CCSBC provides adults living below 200% of the federal poverty level and uninsured individuals with limited medical care. In 2021, the clinic expanded across the hall to Suite 203 to provide dental care. The medical clinic offers preventive care, routine checkups, sports, and employment physicals, mammograms, screenings for lung cancer, and treatments for diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and other conditions. They are open on Tuesdays and Thursdays by appointment only.
When Mrs. Lusk learned of Simmons’s extensive resume in health care, she was ecstatic and offered Simmons the position of office manager. In October 2023, after receiving a Connecting Forward grant, CCSBC also opened The Other Door. Simmons now manages both. When a family is staring down a utility shutoff, when someone has nowhere safe to sleep, when a crisis hits, this nonprofit steps in to offer short‑term financial help, keeping families stable long enough to breathe again.
“We are a nonprofit medical and dental clinic,” Simmons said. “We provide care for the low-income, no-income, and uninsured in Bedford County. We assist with the individual needs of each one by providing medicine and, if necessary, sending them to specialists at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. We provide full dentures, partials, extractions, and, through The Other Door, we assist with water and electric bills from Duck River Electric, Shelbyville Power, and Atmos Energy. We provide funds to refill propane tanks and Kroger gift cards. We try to assist with today’s needs. We also provide transportation to the specialist. Our medical clinic treats adults 19 to 64 years old, and our dental clinic treats ages 5 and up and accepts TennCare.”
Simmons overflows with generosity and a love for all, but she isn’t reaching into an abundant arsenal stored up from an idyllic childhood. “I didn’t grow up in a loving home,” she said. “When I was about 10 years old, a woman whom I don’t know told me I was beautiful and that Jesus loved me. At that moment, I promised myself I would encourage others as that lady had encouraged me. I never saw her again, but I can still hear her words ringing in my heart to this day.”
Besides her work at the clinic, Simmons serves on the ministerial staff of Sevier Street First Baptist Church under the leadership of Pastor Quintin Perkins. Every month, she also mails out 20 to 30 cards. Some of the recipients are strangers, but she uses this method to sow kindness beyond our county lines.
“I want to let them know they are being thought of and that I care about them, but more importantly, Jesus loves them with an everlasting love.”
The hardest challenge she faces at the CCSBC or The Other Door is not being able to meet every need due to limited resources. “I have learned that I can’t help everyone. Sometimes, someone asks, ‘Can you pray with me?’ and that’s exactly what I do. My faith in Jesus is the only thing that keeps me grounded. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it were not for my faith. When all hope was gone, I was able to hold on to my faith. When life is cruel, my faith keeps me. When doors were not opened to me, my faith kept me lifted.”
Across races and generations — from young women to even a 90‑year‑old friend — others affectionately call her “Mom.” Simmons said, “Love is colorblind. Love crosses all cultures. Love has no barriers. Love sees only what the heart does. Love is not poor or rich.”
Patricia Simmons became the person she once needed most, and our entire community is blessed because of her willingness to step out by faith. “What has kept me committed is my love for God’s people,” she said. GN
Discover more about the Community Clinic at: www.shelbyvilleclinic.org.
