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Infirmary Doctor Began As Country Physician, Recalls House Calls
BY GLOVIS CORE
Even the frenzied pace that
always goes with treating students
who are sick an 4 in between
classes doesn’t keep Student
Health Center physician Roy L.
Denney from taking time out to
show concern for his patients.
"How are you this morning?" Dr.
Denney soys as he (loses the examin
ing room door and looks over the stu
dent's chart.
He fits the image of “doctor,” yet
adds a country flair to his work.
Snow white hair and bright eyes
accompany a gentle Georgian
accent that can be distinguished
'from mo6t others, even in a
crowded room
Wearing a suit and tie but usually
discarding the coat, he exudes an
authority and confidence that wins
the trust of the people he en
counters.
"Now you out two drops of this in
that eye and that'll do it. Come back
if it gives you any more trouble,"
he advises a patient.
From 1949-1976, Dr. Denney had
an eye, ear, nose and throat
practice on Clinic Avenue in
Carrollton. The office was not too
far from Tanner Memorial
Hospital and a stone’s throw away
from his son-in-law’s drug store.
Dr. Denney’s background helps
in diagnosing and treating students
because, according to Doug Almon,
pharmacist, most of the com
plaints have to do with upper
respiratory infections.
Of Denney, Almon says, “He’s
one of the finest men I’ve ever
worked with. He has a good bedside
manner and he can relate as well to
an old man or woman as he can to a
student.”
Opal Barnes, assistant director
of health services, added, “He's
happy, pleasant and seems to enjoy
working and talking with the
students. He also sees more
patients than any doctor we’ve
had. He doesn’t leave here if there
is a student waiting to see him.”
Dr. Denney says he likes his job
here at the college, explaining that
i being around so many young
' people makes him feel young, too.
“I think young people are great. Of
course, they’re gonna be young
people. People aren’t as strict on
them today as they used to be.
“When we were young, we did a
lot of slipping around. The only
difference now is they don’t have
to slip. Things are better now that
people are more open.”
Dr. Denney attended the Medical
College of Georgia in Augusta,
graduated in June 1938, and began
a general medical and surgical
practice in Alma, Ga. in 1939. His
"country practice” continued
ROTC Offers Delayed
BY GLOVIS GORE
Thunderous bombs, guns ex
ploding back and forth and buddies
falling helplessly aside is the scene
on the front combat line.
If you are a male between the
*age of IS and 26, you could be in the
middle of that scene if the draft is
started up again.
If one enrolls in the advanced
ROTC course, the Army will let
that person finish his studies and
then go into the army as an officer.
* ‘There’s a difference in what an
officer does and what a private
does,” said Captain John Pur
tymun.
The advanced course lasts for
two years and requires three
months to three years active duty
-and the attendance of a six week
summer camp at Fort Bragg, N.C.
“This is a possible insurance to
at least staying in college a while
longer if the draft is cranked up
again,” maintained Purtymun.
The basic course lasts for three
quarters. There are no obligations
and one can quit anytime. Pur
tymun says that if someone is
’ enrolled in the basic course, they
would probably still be drafted - not
deferred as in the advanced
.'course. Everyone in the advanced
course comes out a second
lieutenant.
“Though women are banned
'from combat arms, they can do
about 96 percent of the jobs in the
army,” said Purtymun. He added
.that they can also get near the
front.
The army wants 700 thousand
soldiers and are currently having
' difficulty recruiting men. “The age
bracket for men is reduced, so now
there is a push to recruit women,”
he said. He also pointed out that
women recruiting had dropped off
“Asa citizen, students should
through 1946.
Making house calls and having a
“24-hour-day-seven-day-a-week
job” left him little spare time. It
did, however, gain him many
friends and respect —as was
proved by the young woman who
gave him her newborn baby.
“I remember that well. It was 2
o’clock in the morning on April 4,
1944. The baby was from an un
wanting home and the mother
wanted to give him to me. The Lord
takes care of things I guess
that’s why I took him home.
“I had the funniest feeling up the
road. There was just me and that
baby and that old truck on that
bumpy road. He was a nice looking,
black-haired, brown-eyed boy and
we had no trouble at all finding him
anew home.”
After leaving Alma, Dr. Denney
came to Carrollton to work with his
uncle, Dr. H.L. Barker. “It was
Uncle Homer who influenced me to
become a doctor. I remember
when I was little riding with him as
he made his calls, I knew then that
I wanted to be a doctor.
According to Dr. Denney’s sister,
Florence Hopson, none of the
family knew that it was his am
bition to become a doctor. “I
remember that he declared he’d
never be a farmer. Back then we
lived on farming and Daddy
teaching school. When he began
medical school, he had to really
work hard to help pay the cost."
Retiring in 1976, Dr. Denney
remained active. He participated
in a program sponsored by the
American Medical Association
Project USA relieving doctors so
they could take vacations.
He also participated in the
National Health Service Corp
(NHSC) and traveled to such
places as the Mojave Desert and
the coal mines of West Virginia.
Dr. Denney still remembers the
nicest place he and his wife Evelyn
have been Ringling, Okla. “They
were all cowboys out there and
they wanted us to stay.”
He and Evelyn have successfully
raised four children, Roy Jr.,
Larry, Susan and Charles, and they
now have five grandchildren.
Dr. Denney fills his spare time
with his family and enjoys golf,
traveling, fishing, gardening and
square dancing.
He golfs with a handicap of IS or
16 at the country club right across
from his home. “When we were in
the desert, I golfed when it was 106
degrees,” he says.
Dr. Denney also likes to fish. “I
give some thought about a possible
draft. Unless they plan to desert
the country they’ll be drafted if
they’re qualified,” he said.
He added that an education
doesn’t insure becoming an officer.
“If you want to be an officer you
enroll in ROTC, or try to get into
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cane pole fish. The biggest fish I’ve
caught weighed 25 lbs.,” he
maintains.
He says he doesn’t do as much
gardening as he used to. “I can't
garden like I want to. Evelyn can’t
understand why I can play golf but
don’t hoe the weeds out of the
beans."
Placing the stethescope around his
neck, he remarked that he’d stay
here for as long as he enjoys it and is
able.
Just before he began briskly walk
ing toward his next patient, he ad
vises the younger generation to get
an education, stay physically fit,
adhere to preventative medicine,
have a proper diet, and stay off
drugs and alcohol.
Turning to leave, he adds, "They'll
have to learn this themselves, though;
no one can tell them."
Dr. Denney Denies Inavailability Charges
BY GLOVIS GORE
“I’ve been working here for
about 16 months and have never
left the infirmary with a student
waiting, nor have I ever refused to
see a patient,” asserted Dr. Roy
Denney in response to quotes from
students in an article published in
last week’s West Georgian.
In the article, students com
plained that Dr. Denney was
“unavailable” and that the
physician’s hours (7 a.m. • 1 p.m.
weekdays) “were not being kept.”
“You don’t post hours in the
medical profession. This job is not
like being a plumber or working at
Southwire. You just can’t punch in
on a time clock,” Dr. Denney
declared.
“I’m either here or available for
call during those hours. I have a
beeper and a radio in my truck - so
I’m available,” he said.
Opal Barnes, assistant director
of health services defends Dr.
Denney, "He sees patients as long
as they’re here. He doesn’t leave if
a student is here.” She also added
that the doctor sees more patients
than any doctor the infirmary has
ever had.
In a comparison report, the
patients seen by the doctor in
January, 1979 was 569 and in
January, 1980 - 740. Dr. Denney
saw 171 more patients this January
than last January.
Another student charged that the
doctor was in a hurry to leave to
play golf. “I probably did say I was
going to play golf -but I never go
until after 1 o’clock,” Dr. Denney
Entry
West Point or Officers Training
School (OTS), both of which are
hard to get into.”
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I)r. Denney, infirmary doctor, examines a student.
said.
There were also charges that the
doctor was not in his office at 7 in
the morning. “I’m always up
before seven. I see no need of
sitting around at the infirmary
when no one is here. Students
usually begin coming in around 8 in
the morning. If they’re over here at
7 o’clock - I’ll come,” said Dr.
Denney, who lives about five
minutes away from the infirmary.
“I’m retired. I love the work and
I’ve stayed as late as 3 in the af
ternoon. I’m trying to practice
good preventive medicine,” he
said.
Dr. Denney is proud of the in
firmary and the staff and what
they accomplish. A gynecological
clinic is held on the first and second
Tuesday of each month. “We’re
doing this because it is needed. The
hours are from eight to twelve and
we take four students an hour by
appointment,” explains the doctor.
In addition to seeing these
students during clinic days, Dr.
Denney sees students who are sick
in between appointments. “The
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THE WEST GEORGIAN, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1980
cost for a student who goes to a
clinic other than the infirmary
would be from $45-|65,” says Dr.
Denney.
Last month the infirmary passed
the Georgia State Board of
Hospital Inspectors with Grade A.
This is the highest mark there is.
One visit to the infirmary makes
up for the health fee which is s2l. A
private physician charges about
sls for an office call.
“The majority of the prescrip
tions at the infirmary are for upper
tract infections,” says Doug
Almon, pharmacist.
“If Dr. Denney prescribed an
antibotic, antihistamine,
decongestant, and a gargle - the
retail cost of each would be:
Tetracycline 500 mg (antibiotic)
$5
Tritap (antihistamine) $3
Gargle (a formula Dr. Denney
developed through the years)
average price of a gargle $2.50.
Robitussin dm (decongestant
cough syrup) $2
And if ear drops (Chloromycetin)
are prescribed $9
6*Bs*
CMCKEN* BISCUITS
“These prescriptions would total
$21.50 for the student if bought in a
retail pharmacy,” said Almon. He
also pointed out that the infirmary
could furnish drugs because “we
buy from the State of Georgia with
a contract. The prices are lower
than a retail pharmacy would have
to pay.”
Students who take above six
hours must pay the health fee, but
this does not include 24 hour
coverage. According to Dr. Den
ney, if a 24 hour coverage is what
West Georgia wants, then either
the pay will have to be increased or
the number of doctors increased.
“One doctor can’t take care of
4000 students. Georgia Tech, with
around 9000 students, has five
doctors —some regular and some
on call,” he pointed out.
Dr. Denney said that he’d never
had any complaints before.
“There’s a sign in Irving, Texas
that says: population 1562 and a
few old sore heads. I guess you’ll
have a few old soreheads wherever
you go."
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