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GRACE & TRUTH

GRACE & TRUTH

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biography

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By Sarah DaviS

Dr.GenieneJones

What are the Joneses first?

According to Dr. Geniene Jones, Chief Medical Officer and Lab Director for Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center (RCCHC) and ECU Rural Family Medicine Residency Site Director, her children, Jadé (10), Hannah (8), and Lucas (6) have been taught to respond “Kind,” when asked, “What are the Joneses first?”

Dr. G. Jones and her husband, Dr. Jamande Jones, RCCHC Pediatrician, exemplify that answer, not only in word, but also in deed.

Dr. Geniene describes her colleagues with adjectives such as “caring, compassionate, warm and generous.”

Born in the Bay area, Dr. Jones relocated to Winston-Salem, at age 11 when her mother, a Winston native, moved back to North Carolina.

Completing middle and high school in Forsyth County, Dr. Jones then matriculated at UNC-Chapel Hill, where she double majored in psychology and political science, minoring in public policy, thinking she would probably eventually practice law.

Following graduation, however, she returned to Forsyth County as a case worker for their Social Services Division. Calling it an “eye-opening” experience, she learned much about the needs of people, especially the most vulnerable, a knowledge she has definitely carried into her present position.

After a time in social work, she moved to South Africa and spent a year

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in mission work. In 2004, she returned to the United States and worked for WalMart in Raleigh before returning to school in order to pursue a career in medicine.

After filling in needed classes at UNC-G, she was accepted to Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. There she met her husband, Jamande, and a mentor, Dr. Tom Irons, who, knowing the Joneses’ mission mindset, suggested she and her husband meet Kim Schwartz, CEO of RCCHC, and take a look at the Roanoke-Chowan area.

Dr. Irons told the Joneses they would love Kim and the area, and they did.

And, the feeling was mutual, “From the first time I met Geniene and her husband, Jamande, nearly 10 years ago, I was deeply touched by their collective passion for serving in communities that could most benefit from doctors committed to staying over time.,” Schwartz said. “Both Joneses have stayed connected to ECU Family Medicine, and it has been so meaningful to have Geniene’s generosity, expertise,and partnership as we have navigated the opening of our Rural Residency right here at RCCHC.

“Additionally, Geniene’s recent promotion to Chief Medical Officer is offering a fresh perspective that comes from her very real world perspective of patient care in Eastern North Carolina. It is a pure delight and honor to work with her daily,” says Schwartz.

The Joneses moved to the area in July 2013 with one child in tow and one on the way. Since then, they have added a third practitioner of kindness.

Dr. G. Jones initially worked in the Murfreesboro office with Dr. Mike Alston, who says of her, “Dr. Geniene Jones is a very compassionate, very knowledgeable physician who contributes to our community in so many ways. She handles all of her many responsibilities (including raising three beautiful children)

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“Dr. Geniene Jones is a very compassionate, very knowledgeable physician who contributes to our community in so many ways.”

- Dr. Mike Alston

with professionalism and always with a joyful, positive attitude. Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center and the Roanoke Chowan area are blessed to have her here.”

In the fall of 2020, after RCCHC was selected as a site for the ECU Rural Family Medicine Residency Program, she moved to the Ahoskie office in order to oversee that program.

Excited about the program (“cheerleader” for it, according to Dr. Julian Taylor), she sees it as an opportunity to train compassionate physicians, believing it easier to achieve that objective in a small community. When talking about that aspect, she cites her family’s experience in moving to the area, how welcomed they were with food and friendship.

The program currently has its first two residents; it will expand by two (or three) each year with each class a three-year program. She is hopeful that some of the residents will choose to stay here beyond the three years and believes they will, based on the experiences of these first two.

Dr. Jones has also assumed the role of Chief Medical Officer for RCCHC. Colleague Dr. Colin Jones, formerly CMO, calls her a confident leader in that role. Calling her warm, welcoming, wise and generous, he notes that she maintains an excellent work-life balance.

Recently retired colleague, Dr. Julian Tayor, describes her as a caring, gifted physician who always has the greater good of the patient in mind, noting that she has “an effective way of recruiting coworkers for tasks which need doing in the clinic.”

Declaring she is “one of a kind,” Dr. Colin Jones emphasizes the word “kind,” firmly echoing the Jones family mantra, that they are first, last and always Kind.

Sarah Davis is a retired librarian and regular contributor to Eastern NorthCarolina Living.

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