ANHC regretfully but gratefully announces the retirement of one of our longest standing employees, Dr. Gail Hurley. ANHC sponsored a retirement party in her honor to help celebrate Dr. Hurley’s next chapter.
ANHC regretfully but gratefully announces the retirement of one of our longest standing employees, Dr. Gail Hurley. ANHC sponsored a retirement party in her honor to celebrate Dr. Hurley’s next chapter.
Dr. Gail Hurley has been a dedicated and beloved physician at Athens Neighborhood Health Center in Athens, Georgia for over 39 years, beginning her journey at ANHC in 1987. She has held a love and passion for her community since adolescence. From early childhood, Gail knew she wanted to be a doctor and help people. Her family played a major role in instilling strong values and a love for her community. She spent part of her childhood and adolescence helping care for her great-grandparents, who she loved very dearly, which helped shape her passion for serving the elderly.
Born in 1950, Dr. Hurley grew up in Athens during times of change, witnessing desperation, poverty, and need within her community. She knew she was home when she found Athens Neighborhood Health Center. She believed in the mission of the four founders and wanted to contribute as much as she could. While being a dedicated mother and wife, Dr. Hurley gave everything she could to her community and patients. To hear her speak of her patients is always with respect, love, and gratitude. She believes firmly that everyone deserves access to the best healthcare possible and has contributed well beyond the call of duty to ensure her patients received it.
When Dr. Hurley started at ANHC in 1987, she was eager to offer the best care she could. Many of her patients from those early years have continued to see her, growing together over time. She is known for the respect she shows everyone she interacts with, as well as her upfront and honest communication. Both staff and patients can attest to the integrity with which she practices medicine and lives her life.
Dr. Hurley remained with Athens Neighborhood Health Center well beyond student loan forgiveness, dedicating her entire career—and much of her life—to caring for and advocating for the Athens community. She stayed through both good times and challenging ones, including organizational hardship in 2016, when she went above and beyond expectations of a provider. Throughout the pandemic, Dr. Hurley also faced her own health challenges, yet continued to care for her patients through telehealth, referrals, and coordination with other providers until she was able to return. She came back as quickly as possible and maintained a full schedule of patients who are as dedicated to her as she is to them.
In speaking with many of her long-term patients, she receives the highest praise for her care and bedside manner. Her patients connect with her on a level not often seen in healthcare. She has a genuine and deep concern for their overall health, and the underserved population in Athens has benefitted greatly from her presence. She treats everyone as an equal and offers information freely and without judgment. Many patients credit her with saving their lives, often pointing to the way she explains and encourages preventive care and screenings. One patient shared that although other doctors had recommended cancer screenings, it was Dr. Hurley who helped them truly understand the importance. That patient was later diagnosed with cancer and believes they would not be alive today if not for her.
In speaking with her colleagues, Dr. Hurley is equally beloved and respected. There is no one who encounters her who is unaware of how much she prioritizes her patients. Despite all she has given, she remains grateful to those she has served.
Chief Executive Officer, Marcus Garner, shared,
“I am honored to extend special recognition of Dr. Hurley’s significant accomplishments during her tenure at ANHC. Dr. Hurley has exemplified loyalty through her tireless efforts of providing primary care services to numerous patients during her 39 years of service. She has consistently demonstrated outstanding medical performance and commitment to her patients, and, in return, her patients are committed to her and ANHC. In addition to patient care, Dr. Hurley has contributed her time and effort to improving ANHC’s operations and financial stability.”
While ANHC is sad to see Dr. Hurley go, we are so grateful for the years she has given to this organization and to the Athens community. We are excited for her as she enters this next chapter and wish her nothing but the very best. Dr. Hurley’s impact will continue to be felt for years to come, and she will always be a part of ANHC.
