Gadsden County ’ s Dr . Pat Woodward ( third from right ) has been influential in Dean Littles ’ life from an early age . The Woodward family supports the College of Medicine with a scholarship endowment in his name to ensure that underserved counties , like Gadsden , have the physicians they need . From the left are Littles , sons Edward and Daniel Woodward , wife Mary Jane Woodward and sons Fred and Pat Woodward Jr .
Those words would take shape over her formative years , as she began to recognize the limited or lack of access to health care within her own home and her community .
Littles ’ first encounter with a physician , as a patient , was with Quincy pediatrician Pat Woodward . Unbeknown to her at the time , the connection with “ Dr . Pat ,” as he was known , would be one of the most influential in her career .
As a freshman at Carter-Parramore Junior High School , Littles and a few of her classmates visited Woodward ’ s office for advice in preparation for a research project .
“ We sat down and talked about what it was to be a practitioner in the field of medicine and basically what the options were and what it was like ,” said Woodward , who along with his wife , Mary Jane , and one of their four sons , attended the September “ Meet the Dean ” celebration to commemorate Littles ’ appointment .
The touchpoints between the two continued . Woodward was Littles ’ role model for his approach to medical care , a mentor when she became a resident under his watch at TMH , and eventually a partner at their Quincy medical practice . Now 88 , Woodward retired from practice in 2001 .
In 2014 , the Pat M . Woodward , M . D . Legacy Scholarship Endowment at the FSU College of Medicine was established to ensure that underserved Gadsden County has the physicians it needs in the future . It provides scholarship support for deserving thirdand fourth-year students committed to practicing pediatrics or family medicine in Gadsden and other underserved or rural North Florida communities . It also provides scholarship support for Gadsden High School students considering medical careers who have been selected to attend the college ’ s Summer Institute .
“ Even though Dr . Woodward is not on our faculty , he embodies everything we attempt to teach our students ,” Littles said at the time of the scholarship endowment . “ His knowledge , skill , gentleness and compassion are key ingredients of patient-centered care . His patients loved him . Those of us who learned from him – and future Gadsden physicians who get a boost from this endowment – can only try to measure up to his example .”
Sadly , the lack of medical access was a reality in Quincy and Gadsden County , especially for minority families like the Browns . One of Dr . Littles ’ sisters died as the result of a blood clot after giving birth to twins , one of whom died a short time later . Her father died of a heart attack when she was 14 and she saw many others dealing with illnesses that were going unnecessarily untreated .
As a gifted math and science student who also captained the volleyball team , played basketball and participated in 4-H , she fixed her attention to fulfilling her second-grade teacher ' s prophecy .
She returned to Tallahassee for residency following graduation from the University of Florida College of Medicine in 1986 , where she reconnected with Woodward .
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