BRIDGET GARLAND

Although Gary Meredith, MD, and his wife Vickie already had five children, when the adoption agency told them about a family of four that needed care, the Merediths opened their hearts and home, almost doubling their household. Before the adoption, the Merediths had four biological sons and one adopted son with multiple handicaps.

“Then my wife decided she needed a daughter,” laughed Meredith.

And she got three, and one more son.

“They were a family that had been abandoned in Latvia, a small country near Russia and were in an orphanage there, and had been for several years,” explained Meredith. “They had been out on their own, stealing, grubbing, doing whatever they could to take care of themselves but have been a part of our family for over 12 years now.”

Meredith, a physician with Pediatric Diagnostic Associates, obviously loves children, and it is fitting that pediatrics is his specialty. 

“It was just one of those things that I always wanted to do,” recalled Meredith. “I admired the physicians I had seen growing up, and I enjoyed doing things related to the medical field. It was just a natural fit.”

Continued Meredith, “I started wanting to be a doctor, and, in particular, a pediatrician, probably as young as junior high. Not many people know what they want to do that far back, but I kept that goal and went right on through, and fortunately that worked out for me.”

Even during his rotations in medical school, Meredith never wavered in his preference for pediatrics. “Every rotation you go through, you question what you want to do, but pediatrics was my first love, and I came back to that. I don’t regret a minute of it. I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

Meredith has also been very active in the Chattanooga community as a football coach, a volunteer activity he has enjoyed for the past 15 years.

“Fortunately, I have a wife that has allowed me to coach because doing so put extra work on her, and I’ve had great partners who have let me leave a little early so I could get to practice,” said Meredith.

Meredith played college football for four years, and when his son’s school announced there would not be a football team unless they could find a coach, Meredith was happy to fill the position.

“I said, ‘we’re going to have a football team’,” recalled Meredith.

He coached at St. Jude School for ten years, and then when all his sons left, he went to Notre Dame High School and has coached there for the past five years.

“I had the opportunity to coach three of my sons while I was there and participate with a lot of good kids,” said Meredith.

This year, he plans to step down so that he and his wife can travel to Annapolis, MD, to watch his son play for the Naval Academy.

“I’ve enjoyed the coaching, and I’m going to miss it immensely,” added Meredith.

Meredith came to Chattanooga when he was recruited by Pope Holiday, MD, and Harold Starr, MD, to join Pediatric Diagnostic Associates, which was established in 1934 by Starr. The group has now grown to include eight physicians.

Although Meredith grew up in St. Louis, MO, when the offer to work in Tennessee was made, Meredith had no reservations.

“My family is from the Tennessee area, so it was never foreign to me,” explained Meredith. “My mom and dad are both from Tennessee, and they actually met at Tennessee Tech. I was born in Cookeville while they were still in school. My father’s job took him to St. Louis, but I came back this way.”

Meredith attended medical school at Vanderbilt, where he also did a three-year pediatric residency, remaining a fourth year as the chief resident.

After which, Holiday made his offer to Meredith to join him in Chattanooga.

“I think a person who really helped me out when I came to Chattanooga was Pope Holiday. He was a superb physician, an incredible man, and practiced medicine the way it should be,” said Meredith. “His patients loved him, and I run into people today who tell me what a difference he made in their lives.”

Continued Meredith, “You learn the basics of pediatrics in your residency, but he taught me how to practice pediatrics. And also, the one thing you don’t get in a residence is the business aspects of running a practice, and he taught me all that. He understood what you had to do to run a practice properly.”

In addition to being a valuable asset to the medical community in Chattanooga, Meredith has also been giving back to medical professionals statewide. Meredith serves on the board of directors for State Volunteer Mutual Insurance Company (SVMIC), a physician-owned malpractice company that was started in the 1970s when all the malpractice companies pulled out of Tennessee. 

“I’ve found that to be a real interesting change in what I do,” said Meredith. “I’ve had to learn a whole new business, including something about a big corporation and about making the decisions you have to make at that level. It’s a challenge, and I’ve really enjoyed it.”

Added Meredith, “Hopefully, I’m adding something back to the physicians in Tennessee.”

Meredith estimates that at least 75 percent of the physicians in the state are insured by SVMIC. Stationed in Nashville, the board is comprised of physicians from all over the state.

Of course, what Meredith enjoys the most is the time he spends with his ever-growing family, which now includes two grandsons, and one on the way. 

“I’m a very family-oriented person,” said Meredith. “Watching the accomplishments of my family and what they are doing is as big a thing for me as anything else.”



August 2008