The Roanoker - July/August 2020 - 27

Ann E. Austin, DO

CARILION CLINIC INTERNAL MEDICINE; (540) 224-5170

Nominated for Internal Medicine by
Anonymous
" Dr. Austin is wonderful! She listens to you and
offers helpful suggestions for better health. Every
time I have messaged ... with a question or concern,
she always replies promptly. I had a wake-up call
from years of ignoring high blood pressure and
Dr. Austin quickly put me on a regime of proper
medication and exercise. I'm very grateful to her for
saving my life. "

Matthew Blankenship
FRIENDSHIP

(NORTH CAMPUS): 327 HERSHBERGER ROAD, ROANOKE,
VA 24012; (540) 385-8720
(SOUTH CAMPUS): 5647 STARKEY ROAD, ROANOKE, VA
24018; (540) 777-8300
Nominated for Elder Care by Rob McGee
" Matthew Blankenship is our Director of
Housekeeping and Laundry for our community.
Not only is he responsible for seeing to the daily
cleaning needs on this campus, but he is also
taking care of loved ones at home. As you can
imagine, he and his team have been putting in great
effort to keep everyone in our community protected
health-wise. We appreciate his leadership and his
dedication to our community as well as his family. "

Patrick Bradley, MD
EYE CARE AND SURGERY

ANN AUSTIN, LINDA BUCHANAN: JARED LADIA , COURTESY OF CARILION CLINIC / MATTHEW BLANKENSHIP: COURTESY OF
FRIENDSHIP / PATRICK BRADLEY: COURTESY OF EYE CARE & SURGERYFRANK COTTER / FRANK COTTER: COURTESY OF VISTAR
/ ELLEN D'ARDENNE: COURTESY OF THE GLEBE

Nominated for Ophthalmologist by Kim Gembala
" I met Dr. Bradley two years ago; he diagnosed me
with diabetic retinopathy and told me if we didn't
take action soon I could be blind in one eye, if
not both, by the end of the year. He quickly went
to work with me and over the past two years has
brought my eyes back to health. I credit him with
saving my vision. ... Dr. Bradley is meticulous.
He doesn't assume; he is thorough. He makes
a horrible procedure (like a shot in the eye! or
hundreds of laser shots) manageable. He is a kind,
quiet gentle man who sees a lot of patients in a
day. ... After a long wait one visit last year, I asked
him why he scheduled so many patients and he
responded with ... 'who would I turn away?' He
said that he was grateful for the gift he had been
given, to be a specialist in his field and that he was
always going to treat and follow up on every patient
who needed him. He said it is his ministry to save
someone's vision. Dr. Bradley is just a good man. I
am grateful to him for the gift of continued sight. "

Linda A. Buchanan, MD

CARILION CLINIC FAMILY & INTERNAL MEDICINE,
MARTINSVILLE; (276) 670-3300
Nominated for Family Medicine by Heidi Speakman
" I'm nominating Dr. Buchanan because she got my
medications straightened out when I was fainting
last year several times. A fluid pill was too strong
and got me dehydrated. She is my HERO! "

TheRoanoker.com

Conrad A. Claytor, DPM
LEWISGALE PHYSICIANS

Nominated for Podiatric Medicine & Surgery by
Anonymous
" Dr. Conrad A. Claytor has been attending to the
heart, mind and soles of our residents for years ...
with a great sense of humor and professionalism
that is seldom matched. "

Charles E. Conklin, DDS

CARILION CLINIC - DENTAL CARE; (540) 981-7128
Nominated for Hospital Dentistry by Jenny Karnes
" Dr. Conklin pioneered hospital dentistry in Roanoke
to provide head and neck cancer patients the
dental treatment needed to prepare them orally
for cancer treatment. ... He also branched out to
provide in-house care in nursing homes as well
as Catawba Hospital ... he has helped them all.
His dedication and commitment to show that oral
health is part of good medical health has grown into
a practice not only for compromised adult patients,
but underserved children ... His compassion for
people and patients is his trademark. He treats his
employees with kindness and gratitude. To better
educate newly graduated dentists, he started the
Carilion Residency program that has already trained
at least six classes of new dentists to become
great dentists. He has grown this practice from
three employees to well over 30. His vision was a
great need in this community. He is an outstanding
dentist, man, husband, father, granddad, friend and
leader. He is like Superman and if anyone deserves
recognition for accomplishing great things, it would
definitely be Dr. Charles 'Buddy' Conklin. Patients
and others love, admire and respect him and he
does the same in return. "

Frank Cotter, MD

VISTAR EYE CENTER
2802 BRANDON AVE, ROANOKE, VA 24015; (540) 855-5100
Nominated for Ophthalmologist by Liz Long
" When an ER visit determined I had shingles on my
face and in my left eye, losing my vision (or having
it greatly affected) became a real concern. Dr.
Cotter at Vistar is a caring professional who made
sure to ease my fears even as we were realistic
about the possibility of how shingles could affect
my vision. Between the speedy appointments at
Vistar to the kind staff (who never once made me
feel like a leper, though I felt like it sometimes
during the outbreak!), Dr. Cotter's expertise and
assurances helped me get through a tough time of
worrying about my vision. I am forever grateful to
Dr. Cotter and the entire Vistar team for their care
and professionalism with a scary situation. "

Ellen D'Ardenne
THE GLEBE

Nominated for Elder Care by Samuel Long
" Ellen D'Ardenne is the Executive Director and
acting Administrator of The Glebe during this
COVID-19 situation. Her leadership has been strong,
her forethought has been wise, her planning has
been detailed, her support has been comprehensive
and her attitude has been appropriate. I am honored
to work in her building. I feel safe and I feel our
residents are safe. Her strong leadership has kept a
culture of teamwork in a time of high stress. Ellen is
a hero of the Glebe! "
JULY/AUGUST 2020 27

http://www.TheRoanoker.com

The Roanoker - July/August 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Roanoker - July/August 2020