Mary Nell Ford ’87 graduated with a degree in chemistry. She attended medical school at
Johns Hopkins University, where she also trained as a resident. During
her tenure at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Ford identified a calling to live her
professional life in a setting devoted to providing care for
individuals and families for whom medical care often is not otherwise
available. After a nationwide search for an organization with a mission
closely aligned with her own growing sense of vocation, she affiliated
with the Church Health Center in Memphis, Tenn. The Church Health Center provides compassionate, affordable health
care to more than 40,000 working poor and homeless patients. Ford has been a staff physician there since 1995.
In addition to her tireless work at her Memphis clinic, Dr. Ford has
participated in medical mission trips to Haiti and has provided
critical health care to the residents of that country. She is also
active in her local community and serves as a volunteer caregiver at
House of Mews, a feline rescue program in midtown Memphis.