Despite this, her work expanding access to healthcare in rural West Tennessee and demonstrating exceptional leadership earned her the Logan Beasley Leadership Excellence Award from the Tennessee Primary Care Association (TPCA).
HCCHC is a Federal Qualified Health Center (FQHC) who provides comprehensive, integrated and quality health care services to improve the health and well-being of over 6,000 patients in Chester, Hardeman, and Haywood counties.
Leading with Vision and Heart
Compassion, love for the community, and deep commitment to quality healthcare: This is how Marlita’s nominator describes her leadership philosophy.
“I care so much about what I do. I love what I do,” Marlita says. “And I love what I do because it's selfless, in my opinion. I care about every single person that walks through that door.”
HCCHC’s patients come in with different backgrounds, economic situations, and barriers, but Marlita works to ensure that they all receive the highest quality care. As a result, her passion for her work has inspired a culture of excellence.
Marlita tells me she believes the best way to motivate a team is through action—being in the lobby, speaking to patients, and doing the work alongside staff.
“I can sit behind a desk and send a thousand emails. What does that mean? It means nothing,” she ponders. “People want to see you doing the work. And when they see you do it, they're like, ‘Oh, well, she's boots on the ground, then I'm going to do it too.’”
A Champion for Rural Communities
Marlita was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, which is a decidedly urban area. She’d never even heard of Hardeman County until she met her husband, who grew up there.
“Once I got here, I developed a huge passion for rural healthcare. And I developed a passion because people so often forget these areas,” she explains.
Rural counties in Tennessee often face issues like higher poverty rates, fewer healthcare providers, and longer travel distances for care.1 Marlita feels strongly that access to quality healthcare should not depend on a zip code.
“Everyone—I don't care where you live—should receive healthcare on the same level”, she says.
Turning Vision into Action
During her time as CEO, Marlita has made strides in expanding access to care in West Tennessee. She has a clear vision of strategies to make meaningful improvements and implement them.
Because HCCHC and its satellite offices are in a rural area with limited transportation options, Marlita obtained two 15-passenger vans to provide transportation for patients who struggle to get to their appointments. In addition, she secured a fully equipped mobile unit to ensure outreach screenings can be provided in isolated communities in every county they serve.
Hardeman, Chester, and Haywood counties have also been considered maternal care and pediatrics deserts, meaning patients must travel far to receive those services. To address this, Marlita opened a Women and Children’s Center in 2024—a 12-exam room facility that provides OB/GYN, pediatrics, behavioral health, and laboratory services to the surrounding communities.
Along with this new service, she played a key role in securing a Maternal Care Coordination Grant through GrowWell TN, which was created to ensure pregnant women have access to prompt care and a pediatrician. Marlita has positioned the Women and Children’s Center as part of the region’s long-term maternal health solution.
Care Beyond the Clinic Walls
Marlita’s work with community partners and navigators, who help patients coordinate care, has allowed HCCHC to be aware of issues outside of the health center and extend a helping hand.
In one instance, they learned about a patient who had recently given birth at a nearby hospital and had to borrow a car seat to take her baby home. A community partner referred the patient to HCCHC’s Women and Children’s Center, to see if they could help her with some essential needs.
“It was alarming to hear her say she couldn’t go anywhere because she didn't have a car seat,” Marlita says. “So, we told her, ‘We’re going to make sure you have a car seat by Monday.’”
Community health centers like HCCHC don’t just provide primary care, they address transportation issues, food insecurity, financial assistance, and more.
“That is what is so beautiful about the community health center movement—we treat the whole person,” she shares.
Looking Ahead
HCCHC is already providing family medicine, women’s health, behavioral health, and pharmacy services, and their next endeavor is to have dental services available. Marlita wants to be a one-stop shop for healthcare in their community.
“I'm trying to take this health center to another level where people are talking about us outside of Tennessee,” she says. “So, they can use us as a model of what to do.”
Marlita’s leadership has expanded services, strengthened partnerships, and improved lives across rural West Tennessee, which is why she is well-deserving of the Logan Beasley Leadership Excellence Award.
She is living proof that when leadership is rooted in vision and heart, communities thrive.
Celebrate Your Colleagues: TPCA’s Awards of Excellence
Each year, TPCA honors health center staff, board members, and community supporters for their exceptional gifts of time, effort, and dedication to the community health movement.
Jayda Morse, TPCA
This interview was edited for brevity and clarity.
1 2023 Income, Poverty, Health Insurance Coverage, and Education in Tennessee’s 95 Counties, Sycamore Institute, https://sycamoretn.org/2023-income-poverty-insurance-education/#:~:text=Rural%20vs.,(2).
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