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Phone: (276) 783-8183 Alice McDowell is a board-certified pediatrician and fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She practices three days a week with Marion Pediatric Associates. Dr. McDowell earned a BS degree with honors in 1970 from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, Virginia. She attended the Medical College of Virginia at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, where she earned an MD in 1973. Dr. McDowell completed a three-year pediatric residency at the Medical College of Virginia in 1976. From 1976 to 1978, Dr. McDowell was employed as a staff civilian pediatrician at Martin Army Hospital in Fort Benning, Georgia. She was responsible for outpatient and inpatient pediatric care, neonatal care, and precepting family practice residents. In 1978, she moved to Marion, VA and began working in her current positions. Dr. McDowell is certified in PALS and NALS and is a certified PALS instructor. There are four board-certified pediatricians and one pediatric nurse practitioner on staff at Marion Pediatric Associates. Business hours of the practice are 9:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday and 9:00 a.m. 12:00 p.m. on Saturdays. Dr. McDowell works every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, allowing one of the four full-time physicians to be off duty, so that there are always at least two pediatricians in the office. One of McDowell's colleagues, Dr. George Jones, is also a GMEC preceptor.
About 40% of Dr. McDowell's patients are infants. Another 40% are children under the age of 12, and about 20% are adolescents. She estimates that 40% of her patients are covered by Medicaid, 40% are insured by commercial carriers, and 20% are uninsured. Dr. McDowell is on call every Tuesday night, every 4th weekend, and whenever one of the other physicians is on vacation. She is not often called out when on duty, handling most concerns by telephone. Dr. McDowell rounds the days she is on call. To fully prepare for rural pediatrics, Dr. McDowell feels that residents should become acquainted with programs offered by the health department and, perhaps, accompany nurses on home visits.
Dr. McDowell is married to Dr. James McDowell, a family physician who practices in Marion. The McDowells are the parents of two children - John and Susan. Susan is a first year Medical student at MCV. Dr. McDowell is active in the First United Methodist Church in Marion, where she sings in the choir, plays in the bell choir and is an active member of the Young Life committee. In her free time, she enjoys quilting, gardening, and traveling, particularly to any beach. Residents who rotate with Dr. McDowell may stay in cabins on the lake at nearby Hungry Mother State Park or in some cottages in downtown Marion. The Southwest Mental Health Institute has refurbished a wing into efficiency apartments and residents may stay there. Residents may also choose to stay in local hotels Budget Host, Best Western, or EconoLodge. GMEC can try to locate other furnished houses or apartments for residents, but we cannot guarantee results because short-term rentals are hard to secure in rural areas. Smyth County Community Hospital is a 176-bed acute care facility with a broad range of services emergency, inpatient and outpatient care, intensive care, surgery and anesthesia, obstetrics, radiology, imaging, cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, laboratory, nutrition, physical therapy, pharmacy, and home health. The hills and hollows of Smyth County's landscape are divided into three valleys by the crests of Iron, Walker, and Little Mountains. Branches of the Holston River drain each valley. The town of Marion (pop. 6,630) lies in the middle of the central valley in Smyth County. Quiet homesteads, pastured hills, and patches of dense forest characterize the local landscape. Major elements of the economy are manufacturing, transfer payments (retirement pensions, disability income, and welfare benefits) retail trade, personal services, and tobacco and stock farming. In 1995, the largest employers were Utility Trailer (truck trailers), Dana Corporation (motor vehicle parts), Virginia House Furniture, and Marion Composites (aircraft parts). U.S. Interstate 81 bisects Smyth County and passes through Marion. There are several shopping centers in town, with a number of department and discount stores, cinema screens, restaurants, groceries and boutiques. The Museum of Middle Appalachia is nearby in Saltville. Hungry Mother State Park is seven miles north of Marion, with facilities for camping, picnicking, hiking, biking, boating, swimming, fishing, and horseback riding. Mount Rogers National Recreation Area is about 10 miles south of Marion and features the highest peak in Virginia.
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Alice W. McDowell, M.D.
About 50 patients visit Marion Pediatric
Associates each day, with each physician averaging about 25 visits.
There are 9 exam rooms on the premises along with a waived medical laboratory.
Patients are referred to the hospital across the street for more complex
laboratory tests, emergency care, and x-rays. To encourage families
to seek counseling and to facilitate access, a psychologist sees patients
on the premises twice a week. There are Internet links on site.
Dr. McDowell and her colleagues
maintain newborn and pediatric admitting privileges at Smyth
County Community Hospital. The practice admits an average of
0-2 patients to the hospital each day.