The Roanoker July/August 2022 - 45

state, Custer hired and trained nurse
practitioners to facilitate the assessment
and certification process for those
seeking to use medical cannabis instead
of opioids and pharmaceuticals. She has
dedicated her time to educating community
leaders, the medical field and politicians
on the cannabis plant and how to
utilize plant based medicine and nutrition
for a better lifestyle. In 2018, Custer
opened a retail space in Vinton, once
again educating the area leaders regarding
the attributes of hemp for nutrition
and health. In late 2019, she spoke at a
seminar for regional economic developers
to help them understand how investment
in the cannabis industry would
drive growth in Southwest Virginia. A
healthier community will lead to prosperity,
as proven in other countries.
Custer is passionate about educating for
a healthier community. During the pandemic,
Custer focused on development
of hemp foods, knowing that a good diet
is the key to fighting viruses. Making her
community healthier is her goal, and she
is doing this with healthy food choices
and healthy medical choices. She is a
Health Hero in every sense of the word. "
Todd Dehli, MD
FAMILY CENTRA - VILLAGE
Nominated for Family Medicine by Anonymous
" Dr. Dehli is my hero. He is personable,
compassionate and cheerful. He listens
sincerely and gives the impression
he has all the time in the world for
the patient he is with although I know
his time is precious and his schedule is
packed. He asks about the patient and
shows he is familiar with the reason the
patient made the appointment, but also
past complaints, procedures and tests.
He communicates his reasons for diagnoses,
tests, procedures or follow-ups
clearly and makes time to answer questions.
I will be bereft when he retires. "
Larry Dennis, MD
CARILION CLINIC MATERNAL FETAL MEDICINE
Nominated for Maternal Fetal Medicine by Sara
Stultz
" There were many heroes who helped me
through my most recent pregnancy, but
Dr. Dennis was my big 'behind the scenes'
hero. When I was pregnant with my first
child, everything went fine. Unfortunately,
that was not the case with my most
recent pregnancy. It was determined that
I was in a high-risk pregnancy and there
were many times that it was highly possible
that I wasn't going to have a baby at
the outcome. Dr. Dennis helped guide me
through one of the most difficult times
of my life, giving me honest feedback
and helping me to make the best decisions
with the information we had at the
time. He even made me smile and laugh
when I came to see him, despite having
to work through some very difficult conversations.
My miracle baby came about
seven weeks early and spent two and a
half weeks in the NICU, but he is healthy
and happy. Any woman who has experienced
a high-risk pregnancy can attest
that it is not easy and you feel so helpless.
You could be doing everything right
and there are things that happen that are
out of your control. I realize that during
his career, who knows how many women
and babies, like me, he has helped, so for
this reason and all the reasons above I
am nominating Dr. Dennis. Thank you
Dr. Dennis, for helping so many women
and babies and being a part of saving my
miracle baby. "
TheRoanoker.com
JULY/AUGUST 2022 45
TODD DEHLI: COURTESY OF CENTRA HEALTH / LARRY DENNIS: COURTESY OF CARILION
http://www.TheRoanoker.com
The Roanoker July/August 2022

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