Search Jonesboro Yellow Pages

By Susan O’Connor

JONESBORO — Giving back to the community is second nature to Jonesboro nurses Lisa Shefelton and Lisa Waggoner.

Their natural instinct to give has been heightened by a unique partnership between the two, which began in graduate school at Arkansas State University. “We immediately clicked,” Waggoner said. Shefelton readily agreed.

The two advanced practice nurses hold master of science degrees and are family NURSE PRACTITIONERS. They are FEMA trained and are the medical response unit for any emergency at Arkansas State University, where Shefelton is the director of the Student Health Center and Waggoner is assistant director.

Near the end of their master’s degree work, Waggoner heard about an opportunity for service and learning that would require two weeks in Dumas as part of the UAMS Partners for Inclusive Communities and its Rural Interdisciplinary Training Grant. She told Shefelton about it.

Shefelton recalls Waggoner saying emphatically, “I’m going.” At the time Shefelton was a single mother with two young sons, and Waggoner was without ties.

But Shefelton wanted to be a part of the experience and arranged for her boys’ grandmother to stay for the two weeks. Their days in Dumas were not only eye-opening, but heart-wrenching.

The two descended into a world where a majority of children were without access to medical or dental care, a world where there was no pediatrician in a 7-county area.

“So often, when we think of service, we think of traveling to foreign countries,” Shefelton said. “This experience taught us about need right here in Arkansas. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. It showed what need is in your own backyard.”

The interdisciplinary program was designed to recruit and retain health care professionals in under-served rural areas. Participants lived with local families, so they were privy to the gamut of local experience.

Waggoner and Shefelton stayed in the home of three Catholic nuns and boarded a school bus each day at 5 a.m. with the children, many of whom had a 2-hour commute to school.

Part of their service involved caring for foster children, many of whom came from homes where they were sexually abused, or exposed to drug abuse.

“The foster children were difficult for me,” Shefelton said. “I thought, ‘This is the upcoming generation. These children will be adults someday.’”

The 2-week stay ended, but the women couldn’t forget the children. They returned weekly to offer service for a year. Their intrinsic need to give has continued in Jonesboro.

The pair spend untold hours giving area youth free athletic physicals and lecturing on health issues wherever they are called.

In early summer the team worked alongside other health care professionals to give physicals to Jonesboro, Valley View, Nettleton and Westside junior and senior high athletes, a savings of about $75 per athlete.

“It is just a huge savings for parents,” Shefelton said. “You have doctors in each specialty checking that specific part of the body. It is so great.”

On Saturday they spent the day providing physicals to more than 200 children, who will participate in the Jonesboro citywide pee wee football program, and it was apparent they were glad to be of service. A ready smile awaited each child.

On any given evening they can be found discussing health and safety issues with ASU students in dormitories or speaking on men’s health at a local church.

“People ask me, ‘Why do you do this?’” Shefelton said. Her tone became serious as she explained.

“My father was killed in a boating accident when I was a baby, and I was raised by a single mom. Giving back to the community is very important to me. Maybe I am helping a struggling family or single mom.”

Waggoner credits her small-town childhood with the inspiration.

“I grew up in the Piggott-Pollard area,” she said. “When you live in a small town, you see early on how important it is to help other people. I think that is why I am what I am today — helping other people and caring for them.”

Both have a work ethic that enables them to juggle families, full-time careers and service to their community.

“We have very similar upbringings,” Shefelton said. “Things did not come easily to us. It is not acceptable for us to hear someone say they don’t have the means to accomplish a goal.

“Neither one of us was handed the silver spoon. We’ve worked hard for everything we have. Anyone can accomplish anything.”