HOUSE RESOLUTION 7012
By Boyd
A RESOLUTION to honor and commend Robert Carver Bone,
M.D., M.B.A. for his contributions to health care for the people of Wilson County and surrounding counties of Middle Tennessee.
WHEREAS, Dr. Robert Carver Bone was born on April 1, 1936, to Sam Stratton Bone,
Sr., and Margaret Frances Talley Bone, and was the eldest of three sons, his brothers being Sam Stratton, Jr., and Harold Gordon Bone; and WHEREAS, Dr. Bone's family includes his devoted wife Connie; son, Robert "Rob";
daughter, Bonnie Ramage; stepdaughters, Ann Choomack and Kate Choomack; and grandchildren, Nick Ramage, Wyatt Ramage, and Ava Bone; and WHEREAS, he has been a lifetime and active member of First Presbyterian Church,
serving as both elder and deacon; and WHEREAS, having graduated as valedictorian from Lebanon High School, Dr. Bone received his undergraduate degree, graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from Vanderbilt University; he also received his medical degree at Vanderbilt and earned a Master of
Business Administration in 1985 from Vanderbilt's Owen School of Business; and WHEREAS, after completing a pediatric residency at Vanderbilt, he returned to his hometown and practiced pediatrics along with his mentor, Dr. Charles T. Lowe, for four years;
and WHEREAS, after completing a surgical residency at the University of Florida in
Jacksonville, Florida, he once again returned to Lebanon and became the first physician in
Lebanon to hold certifications in two specialties; and WHEREAS, amidst his educational studies and his practice of medicine, Dr. Bone found the time to travel extensively worldwide; one such adventure immediately after completing HR7012
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medical school was an independent yearlong study of the nutrition, diets, and gastrointestinal disorders of various cultures as he traveled to sixty-five countries, including locations in Europe and Southeast Asia; and WHEREAS, Dr. Bone served proudly in the U.S. Army Reserve and was a flight surgeon with the Tennessee Air National Guard, retiring as a full colonel; and WHEREAS, Dr. Bone has passionately supported Lebanon's Cumberland University,
where he has served on the Board of Trust for over fifty years, including twenty years as
chairman, and currently holds the title of Chairman Emeritus; and WHEREAS, Dr. Bone has been an active member of the Lebanon Rotary Club since
1964 and is a Paul Harris Fellow; he was the recipient of the Bernie Bass Community Service award in 2017 and has always exemplified the Rotary Motto, "Service above self"; and WHEREAS, in the mid-1970s, Dr. Bone was instrumental in obtaining federal grants to
fund six rural health clinics in Wilson County; these clinics became part of Neighborhood Health,
and in September 2016, he was honored and celebrated by the Neighborhood Health organization for his contribution in helping to create this network of community health centers;
and WHEREAS, throughout his career, Dr. Bone continued his affiliation with Vanderbilt,
attending both surgery and pediatric Grand Rounds, serving faculty appointments in surgery,
anatomy, and pediatrics, and completing a fellowship in oncology; beginning with his education,
this affiliation with Vanderbilt has spanned over seventy years; and WHEREAS, in June 2014, Dr. Bone was nominated and selected as Nashville Business Journal's annual "Health Care Hero," an award recognizing excellence and innovation and honoring the efforts of organizations and individuals making a significant impact on the quality of
health care in Nashville and surrounding areas; and
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WHEREAS, during the 1970s, Dr. Bone spearheaded a group of physicians and community leaders to build a new hospital in Lebanon; and WHEREAS, on April 1, 1979, University Medical Center Hospital was opened as a nonprofit sixty-five bed facility with a commitment to Cumberland University to enhance the education of allied health programs; and WHEREAS, over the years, University Medical Center evolved and grew to a 245-bed facility and on August 1, 2019, was acquired by Vanderbilt University Medical Center, bringing health care of the highest quality to Wilson County and the greater community; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED
THIRTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, that we honor and commend Dr. Robert Carver Bone for his achievements, contributions, and the impact he has made during his lifetime of not only practicing medicine but serving as a catalyst behind new ideas that have made Lebanon and Wilson County a better place to live.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that an appropriate copy of this resolution be prepared for presentation with this final clause omitted from such copy.
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