So Much More Than a Seat at the Table
For Renee Kumor, the Blue Ridge Heart is more than a description of an organization’s culture. It is something she has experienced firsthand, both as a member of Blue Ridge Health’s governing board and through the care her family received during some of life’s most difficult moments.
Renee’s connection to Blue Ridge Health began years before she became a board member. She was invited to help then-CEO Barbara Garrison and the board develop a strategic plan for the organization’s future. The experience introduced her to BRH’s mission and gave her an appreciation for its role in the community.
But it was a much more personal experience that deepened that connection.
When the physician who had cared for Renee and her husband, Stan, retired, finding a new primary care provider proved difficult. Stan had ongoing health concerns, making the search particularly important. A friend’s suggestion led them to Blue Ridge Health, where both were welcomed as patients.
Over the years, Stan developed a close relationship with his physician, Dr. Maggie Hayes. He saw her monthly, and Renee remembers that Dr. Hayes had a remarkable ability to get through to him.
“If Dr. Hayes gave him a directive, he listened!” Renee recalled. “It was magical.”
That relationship became especially meaningful as Stan’s health declined.
During a routine office visit, Stan collapsed. BRH staff immediately arranged for an ambulance to transport him to Pardee Hospital, ensuring he received appropriate monitoring and care. By the time he arrived at the emergency department, his cardiologist had already been notified.
It was the beginning of a difficult final chapter in Stan’s life, but the care and concern Renee experienced did not end with his transfer to the hospital.
Dr. Hayes remained attentive to his condition and offered Renee encouragement as the family navigated his illness. Even now, nearly two years after Stan’s death, Renee says Dr. Hayes continues to greet her warmly and ask how she is doing.
Although Dr. Hayes is not Renee’s own primary care provider, the relationship has endured.
For Renee, that experience illustrates something fundamental about Blue Ridge Health: the relationships between patients and providers are built on more than medical appointments.
She sees that same commitment in everyday interactions throughout the organization.
As both a patient and a governing board member, Renee has a unique vantage point. When she sits in a BRH waiting room, she pays attention to how patients are welcomed and treated.
“Everyone who checks in is treated as well as me,” she observed. “Or should I say everyone is treated as though they are board members!”
To Renee, that consistency reflects an organizational culture that cannot be created simply through policies or procedures. It comes from people who care about their work and the individuals they serve.
Her confidence in BRH is also reflected in the recommendations she makes to others. Now living at Carolina Village, Renee frequently encounters new residents searching for healthcare providers. She encourages them to consider Blue Ridge Health and is pleased when neighbors share their own positive experiences with BRH physicians.
Those experiences reinforce her commitment as a board member and supporter of the organization.
Drawing on years of community involvement and nonprofit leadership, Renee appreciates both the responsibility of governing a healthcare organization and the importance of looking beyond its immediate needs.
She has watched BRH grow across multiple administrations, expanding school-based healthcare, behavioral health services and partnerships throughout Western North Carolina. What impresses her is not simply that growth, but the willingness to work with others to meet changing community needs.
“We don’t say ‘get out of our way,’” she said. “We ask, ‘can’t we work together to provide healthcare that is best for our communities?’”
For Renee, the Blue Ridge Heart is not an abstract idea. It is found in a physician who remembers a family long after a patient’s final visit. In staff members who treat every person with dignity. And in an organization that continues to find new ways to care for the communities it serves.
It is something she first came to understand through community service, experienced personally through her husband’s care and now helps sustain through her leadership.
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