Dr. Stephen and Bety Coats “When I came here, it (Ozarks


Healthcare) was about a 40-bed hospital, a glorified nursing home, really. And now it’s a major medical center for the region. They’re bringing people in from all over the country to work here, specialists and nurses. It’s amazing how much this place has grown.” While admitting he wasn’t wired to sit


on committees, Stephen lent his leader- ship and guidance to that growth, serving several such bodies in his career. “Every hospital has to have multiple committees, and I served on about all of them at one time or another,” he said.


“My biggest pride is all the patients I’ve taken care of who have done well. I have people come up to me who


show me their scars.” - Dr. Stephen Coats -


“Committees were not my thing, howev- er. They took up a lot of time, and with a busy office and busy surgery schedule and emergencies in the ER, committees were kind of a thorn in my side, frankly.” Instead, the couple preferred devoting


what scant spare time there was to mak- ing a more immediate and tangible im- pact on others. “We have been on many mission trips through our church,” said Betty, an RN by training. “We’ve been to Guatemala, we’ve been to Jamaica three times, we’ve been to Mexico and Haiti. All of them were very interesting clinics. We took


SUMMER 2022 | INSIGHT | 23


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