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LOCK HAVEN -- Lock Haven University graduate, and former resident of Jersey Shore, Dr. Kelly McBride, returns to Commonwealth University-Lock Haven on Nov. 5, to discuss her latest book, "Mountain Mercy: The Incredible Story of the Health Wagon."
For McBride, the visit represents more than an author's appearance. It is rooted in family, education and a story that changed the way she sees the world.
Both of McBride's parents, Donald and Kathy, were from Lock Haven. Her mother was also a Lock Haven graduate, earning a degree in education before embarking on a 40-year teaching career in Florida and Pennsylvania. She spent many of those years at Avis Elementary School, where she served as a reading specialist. Her father, Don, worked in commercial construction in Williamsport.
"Coming back to the area for this talk means a great deal to me," McBride said. "My parents' roots were here, and this region will always be part of my story. My parents are deceased and are buried in Lock Haven and knowing that they are at rest here makes this homecoming even more personal. I'm coming back to the place where our family's story began."
Her own time at The Haven helped shape her path. She participated in student government, theater and chorus, and was a member of the university's Zeta chapter of Alpha Sigma Tau. She later earned a master's degree from Alvernia University in Reading, Pa., and a doctorate from Immaculata University.
Her career in communications has spanned politics, education and corporate leadership. She has taught for 15 years in higher education at York College of Pennsylvania, Kutztown University, La Salle University and Virginia Tech in public and media relations, crisis communication and integrated marketing communication. She continues to adjunct at YCP as well as Indiana University and Central Maine Community College.
Mountain Mercy tells a story far removed from the boardrooms, classrooms and political arenas that have marked much of her professional life.
The book chronicles the extraordinary work of the Health Wagon, a nonprofit health care organization serving underserved communities throughout the Virginia Central Appalachian area.
Founded by Sister Bernadette "Bernie" Kenny, the mission began with a determined nun, an old Volkswagen Beetle and a calling to bring care to people who might otherwise go without it.
What began as a small, mobile ministry grew into an innovative health care operation serving thousands of patients annually.
Through the stories of nurse practitioners Dr. Teresa Gardner Tyson and Dr. Paula Hill-Collins, McBride explores not only the challenges of delivering health care in rural Appalachia, but also the faith, sacrifice, resilience and compassion that sustain the mission.
The book also captures the lives of the people behind the stats: patients facing difficult circumstances, families seeking help and health care providers who continue to show up when the road becomes difficult.
"I went into this project to tell the story of the Health Wagon, but I came away understanding that this is about so much more than health care," McBride said. "It's about what happens when people refuse to look away from someone's suffering. It's also about faith put into action and the extraordinary things ordinary people can accomplish when they believe every human life has value."
For McBride, the book also prompted a personal reckoning with what matters most. Through the lives of the people she encountered while researching and writing Mountain Mercy, she found herself reflecting on the difference between success as the world defines it, and a life measured by service to others.
"The people in the story reminded me that the things we spend so much time chasing aren't necessarily the things that matter the most," she said. Sometimes the most profound moments come from just being present for another human being. That's a lesson I hope readers carry with them long after they finish the book."
Although the Health Wagon serves communities in Southwest Virginia and the surrounding Appalachian region of Kentucky and Tennessee, its stories resonate well beyond state lines. Appalachia extends from Georgia to Maine, crossing through Pennsylvania, connecting communities through shared histories, traditions, economic challenges and a deep sense of place.
For readers in the Lock Haven area, McBride's book offers an opportunity to explore a story rooted in the broader Appalachian experience.
McBride, who has lived in Florida for the last six years, hopes her return visit to her alma mater's region will bring that story to a new audience.
"Coming home gives me the chance to share a story that I believe deserves to be heard," she said. "I hope people see themselves in these pages -- not because their lives look exactly like those in the book but because they understand what it means to care for a neighbor, face hardship and find hope when circumstances are difficult.
Dr. McBride will discuss Mountain Mercy: The Incredible Story of the Health Wagon on Thursday, Nov. 5, in Stevenson Library, second floor at Commonwealth University-Lock Haven beginning at 6 p.m. A Q & A, as well as signings, are available.
The book will be released Nov. 1, and is available for preorder through Amazon, Target, Walmart and Books a Million.
Dr. Kelly McBride is an author, educator and communications professional whose career has included work in politics, education and corporate leadership.
She holds a bachelor's degree in business from Lock Haven University, a master's degree in education from Alvernia University, and a doctorate in education leadership from Immaculata University.
Her work explores the power of communication, the stories that shape communities and the human experiences that connect us.