The Journal of the Arkansas Medical Society Med Journal July 2019 Final 2 | Page 8

by CASEY L. PENN
DENNIS
YELVINGTON, MD
AMS 2019-2020
President
Dr. Lee Archer, immediate past
president of the Arkansas Medical
Society, passes the president’s
medal to Dr. Dennis Yelvington.
D
ennis Yelvington, MD, grew up
on a farm in Clarendon, Ark. It
was in his boyhood home that
he was first touched by the
power of good medicine. “I was very ill once
as a child,” he recalled. “Mother called Dr. Ben Pup-
sta, who drove five miles down our muddy, gravel
road to care for me in our home. I remember my
mother and father were very appreciative of his
coming in the middle of the night.”
Later, the Yelvington family moved to town
and lived next door to Dr. Pupsta, who continued
to make an impression on young Dennis. “He was
a kind man who used to ride me around in the side
car of his motorcycle.”
Upon graduating from Clarendon High School,
Dr. Yelvington first considered architecture as his
career. He changed his mind, however, after more
than two years of study in the University of Arkan-
sas School of Architecture. “I realized that that was
not what I wanted to do with my life,” he said. “For
one thing, it was going to take five-to-six years for
me to get a bachelor’s degree in architecture. I felt
that was way too long. My mother suggested medi-
cine, which I had brought up to her many years
before. Looking back, I guess five-to-six years in
architecture school was not so bad compared to 11
years for family medicine.”
Dennis Yelvington, MD, and his wife, Sheryl
Dr. Yelvington completed UAMS Medical School
in 1982 and went through residency at Jonesboro’s
Area Health Education Centers. Today he is a 37-
8 • THE JOURNAL OF THE ARKANSAS MEDICAL SOCIETY
year practicing family physician at Baptist Health
Stuttgart Medical Clinic. The full-service clinic also
boasts seven other physicians and five nurse prac-
titioners. “We staff a total of six clinics and practice
hospital medicine at Baptist Health Medical Center
in Stuttgart.
“I remember my first day in practice there. I
was across the hall from Dan Daniel, who had been
there for about seven years and wanted me to get
the right start. Dr. Daniel recommended that I al-
ways touch my patients when I saw them for a visit.
You either shook their hand firmly or looked them in
the eye while you touched their shoulder. This was
part of the art of medicine.”
Good influences were many for the young phy-
sician, but a few stand out in his memory. Jerry
Morgan, MD, served as Dr. Yelvington’s mentor dur-
ing a sophomore preceptorship. “I learned many
things from Dr. Morgan, the most important being
to be kind to your patients,” said Dr. Yelvington.
Joe Stallings, MD, was another role model for
Dr. Yelvington. “My residency director, Dr. Joe Stall-
ings, was particularly influential in encouraging me
to be involved in organized medicine as well as its
leadership.”
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