Gentry founded a local medical practice and an accountable care organization
The Tennessee Academy of Family Physicians (TNAFP), a nonprofit organization representing 2,400 members across the state, has recognized Chet Gentry, MD, FAAFP, of Cookeville with the prestigious Family Physician of the Year Award, according to a release.
Physicians are nominated by their peers and celebrated for their “commitment to the profession, their patients and their communities.”
Gentry founded a local medical practice and an accountable care organization. According to the organization, he has “strengthened primary care delivery and health outcomes in rural areas.
“Chet has always been a pioneer, especially to those of us who have been lucky enough to know and work with him. I can say, without question that my success as an independent, rural physician would not be possible without his vision and leadership,” said Kenneth Beaty, MD, 2025 TNAFP President and fellow family physician in nearby Livingston.
Beginning with his time in Detroit, Gentry’s interest in family medicine thrived and survived through college where he received degrees in biology and human development before pursuing his doctorate at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine.
He went on to complete his residency training at the University of Virginia,
“… Where he gained extensive training in obstetrics and neonatal intensive care,” according to the TNAFP.
It was 1993 when Gentry set stakes in Cookeville, starting his rural, private practice, innovative Family Care
“At that time, his practice was one of the first in Tennessee to utilize electronic medical records and one of the first practices in the Upper Cumberland to utilize physician assistants and nurse practitioners as part of the primary care delivery team,” according to the TNAFP.
In 1997, he founded the Wellness Center, which included:
- a certified Diabetic Education Center
- a certified outpatient program for drug and alcohol addiction
- The center also offers group-based programs for:
- tobacco addiction
- obesity
- and chronic diseases such as diabetes, congestive heart failure and depression
“Dr. Gentry’s role as a rural health care advocate and passion for supporting doctors’ success in independent practice environments later led him to establish the Cumberland Center for Health Care Innovation (CCHI), an accountable care organization based in Cookeville devoted to delivering the highest-quality care to patients and improving outcomes at the lowest possible cost,” according to the release.
CCHI supports more than 30 practices in its network, primarily located in Middle Tennessee.
Other accolades include:
- Time as medical director for several home health agencies, the EMS systems of White and Van Buren counties and for several hospice agencies.
- Worked as a hospitalist and ER physician in Cookeville and in rural hospitals in White, DeKalb and Cannon counties.
- He is on the Hospice Advisory Committee of the Cookeville Regional Medical Foundation and currently works on the hospital’s Ethics Committee.
- Served on the Boards of Directors of TNAFP and the Rural Health Association of Tennessee.
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