SHELLEY SPIRES: Celebrating the life of Mirian Worthy

Last week we received word that Mirian Worthy, one of Albany Area Primary Health Care’s founder, had passed away on April 6. Our hearts are heavy at this news. We have lost one of the region’s first true “trailblazers” when it came to expanding health care to serve more residents and bringing critical services to southwest Georgia. She was a force for good and a shining example of the principles that formed our organization.

Four decades ago, Ms. Worthy — along with Dr. James Hotz, Dr. Billy Black, Tary Brown, Dr. Bernard Scoggins and many others — came together to form Albany Area Primary Health Care. Their goal was to create an organization that served all residents, regardless of having the ability to pay or a lack of health insurance. This group, our AAPHC founders, set down a challenge to build a community health center that would withstand the test of time. I’m so proud to say that we’re still continuing their mission after 43 years.

With her work, dedication and passion for serving our community, we named our Mirian Worthy Women’s Health Center after her. Since 2009, this facility has been one of the major Women’s Health Centers in southwest Georgia, serving all of patients’ obstetric and gynecologic health care needs. In 2022, the Mirian Worthy Health Center still stands as one of the few women’s health centers delivering high-quality care to all patients of southwest Georgia. Our center does not turn any patient away, and we ensure that our patients are well cared for … just as Ms. Worthy would have wanted.

I know Ms. Worthy was extremely proud of our organization and the work we have accomplished over the years. Even in the pandemic, she saw that we rose to every challenge and ensured we kept true to our mission. We ensured everyone had access to care, especially during challenging and uncertain times like a global pandemic.

Today, let us honor Ms. Worthy and all of her accomplishments from developing AAPHC to her work as a professor at Albany State University. Thank you, Ms. Worthy, for all you did for not only our organization, but for our entire southwest Georgia community.

Your legacy will live on.

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