Dr. Frances Koe, MD, MPH, is our fearless leader and the driving force behind Agroshare. She is also the physician and owner of Wills Valley Family Medicine and Valley Care DPC.
Dr. Frances Koe began her educational pursuits right out of high school, but at the time, was unsure of a career path. She took a break for a few years, and when her children were small, she homeschooled them. Then an education degree looked like the best path. That was short-lived, however, with the demands of three small children at home.
Finally, when she was 31 years old, Dr. Koe decided on a career in medicine. She had only taken a few semesters at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, so she began a new major in Biology and Chemistry. Dr. Koe then took a detour into the School of Public Health and earned a Master’s of Public Health (MPH) in Health Behavior.
After earning her Master’s degree, Dr. Koe took the MCAT and applied to medical school. On her second attempt to get into medical school, an advisor introduced her to the Rural Medical Scholars Program. This had always been her dream, so she applied and was selected for the number one spot out of all the applicants. As an older student, it can be harder to stand out, so this was an incredible achievement.
Dr. Koe was 39 years old the summer she entered her first year of medical school at the University of Alabama School of Medicine. She was likely the first grandmother who was also a medical student! Dr. Koe had independently studied nutrition and prevention for years before entering school, and this was her passion.
However, as most students of medicine know, nutrition is not a subject of great focus in medical school. Although she wasn’t able to continue to learn as much about nutrition as she’d hoped, Dr. Koe immersed herself in the experience and studied hard. In order to become a successful family practice physician in a rural area, it is important to have a wide knowledge base!
The University of Alabama School of Medicine prepares their students well. Because she was part of the Rural Medical Scholars Program, Dr. Koe finished her medical training in Tuscaloosa. There was a strong focus in family medicine, and she was accepted easily into the family medicine residency program.
Dr. Koe had her choice of practicing anywhere in Alabama, as long as it qualified as rural. She looked all over, north of I-59, as most of her family, friends, colleagues were in the northern part of the state. Dr. Koe decided that wherever a piece of land and a clinic were both available, she would settle in that location. She was very lucky to find her current property, which was exactly four miles and one stop sign away from an empty clinic. Soon after, DeKalb Regional Medical Center hired her. After one year, she was able to purchase the clinic (not the building) from the hospital.
Since then, Dr. Koe has been a solo medical practitioner in Collinsville, AL. The town was so happy to have a family doctor and a pharmacist, who actually opened the same day she did. For a town of only 900 people at the time, both Dr. Koe and the pharmacist have become indispensable to the residents of this small community. Both have been grateful for the opportunity to be a part of Collinsville!
Dr. Koe leads the Agroshare team. She assembled the diverse and inclusive group behind this endeavor, and it is both her brainchild and passion project. Concerned about the way Alabama is lagging behind in health initiatives and the general health struggles that many of our state’s residents face, Dr. Koe hopes Agroshare will provide solutions. Inspired by a lifelong passion for nutrition and an interest in everything self-sufficient and regenerative, she set out to educate Alabamians about health, emphasize the importance of the connection between mind and body, and provide information about the interconnected topics of food, farming and medicine.
Not only does Dr. Koe run Agroshare team, she is responsible for much of the content, medically reviews all information posted here, blogs, and researches constantly. She hopes you’ll join us!
