Sarah Anne Kemble

1958 - 2017

Sarah Anne Kemble, MD, MPH, age 59, of Chester, VT died at home on December 13, 2017.
When she learned of her illness over the past summer, Sarah was in the process of concluding her work at the Veteran's Administration of Central Western Massachusetts, based in Northampton. She had served at the VA as the LSLM or Chief Medical Officer, in civilian terms, Primary Care MD, and Primary Physician for the Long Term Care Unit.
Sarah is survived by her husband Jerry Lund of Leyden MA, daughter Katharine Kemble-Lund of Leyden, son Jeremiah Kemble-Lund of Chester VT; and by her parents Tom and Joan Kemble of Madison,WI; her sisters, Jennifer Gitberg (Steve Gitberg) of Windsor CT; Martha and Rebecca Kemble(Adam Chern) of Madison, WI.; by her brother, Joshua Kemble as well as her nieces and nephews Emily Jenkins (Jill Hovden), Stephanie Coffee (Will), Carolyn Jenkins; Ndegwa, Kibuna and Hannah Nyoike; Dustin and Cory Kemble and two great nephews, Cip Coffee and Darien Martell.
Sarah was born July 12, 1958 and grew up in Glastonbury, CT. She attended Boston University, Hartford College for Women and Smith College, earning her BA in 1980. Sarah's commitment to social justice drew her to work in the Latin American solidarity movement, helping found the Northampton Committee on El Salvador (later broadened to the Committee on Central America) that brought many Central American activists, such as the Nobel Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu, to the area. She traveled to Mexico and Nicaragua as the NE Regional Coordinator for CISPES (Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador).
In 1983-84 she moved to East Africa where Jerry was working for a Swedish NGO in co-leading a national agroforestry project, and while there, participated in rural child health surveys in Western Kenya.
Sarah returned to the U.S. to prepare for the next stage of her life: medical school, with a focus on public health. She worked at that time in substance abuse treatment at the Beacon Programs at Franklin Medical Center, at both the Women's House and the county jail, developing programs at both facilities. She received her MD from Albany Medical College in 1992, completed residencies at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, MA (Internal medicine- community track) and at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester (Preventative Medicine and Public Health, and received her Masters of Public Health (MPH) from the University of Massachusetts in 1999. While a student at Albany Med, she co-led a trip to Cuba to study the Cuban health care system under the auspices of the American Medical Students Association (AMSA). Remarkably during this time she gave birth to her two children, Katie (1992) and Jeremy (1995).
Sarah is widely known and regarded for her pathbreaking work in advocating for high-quality healthcare for underserved populations. She worked with a grassroots committee to found the Community Health Center of Franklin County in 1995 in Turners Falls, MA, a 501(c)3 nonprofit where she served in a number of roles including Medical Director, Executive Director, and finally Primary Care Physician until 2011. A second site was opened in Orange, MA and was named for her mentor and friend Dr. Desmond Callen, a pioneer of the community health center movement that began in NYC. The federally-funded CHCFC offers critical medical and dental services, nutrition, behavioral health counseling, transportation and outreach programs. As Executive Director of CHCFC she opened two satellite school-based health clinics at Mohawk and Pioneer Regional schools believing this was a more effective way to serve rural patients who had problems with transportation for medical care as well as increasing access for students in rural settings. In 2011, Sarah expanded her career northward and relocated to
Springfield, VT (and later Chester) where she served as Chief Medical Officer and primary care internist for Springfield Medical Care Systems Community Health Center in Chester, VT.
Sarah's busy public speaking schedule and advocacy work included testifying before the Senate Subcommittee on Primary Care and Aging chaired by Bernie Sanders in 2011, where her remarks were titled, "Is Poverty a Death Sentence?"
Notable always for her directness, truthfulness and engagement with key issues, she was the recipient of many honors and awards, including the Women of Influence Award from the Women's Fund of Western Massachusetts in 2000, the Unsung Heroine Award from the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women in 2007, the Franklin District Community Clinician award of the Massachusetts Medical Society, and the Mary Lyon Foundation 1st Annual Pet Kerrins Community Service Award in 2010.
She served in many elected and appointed positions, among them the board of Geisel Medical School at Dartmouth, Chair of the Board of Directors of Community Action serving Franklin and Hampshire counties, the Massachusetts Medical Society, the American Public Health Association in Washington D.C., the Dartmouth Institute, the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, and a member of the Primary Care Leadership Group to the Green Mountain Care Board of the Vermont Medical Society. Her academic appointments included clinical assistant professor at the University of Vermont College of Medicine and clinical instructor of the Longitudinal Preceptorship Program at University of Massachusetts Medical School. As a resident of Leyden, MA for many years, she served on the Leyden Board of Health, including as Chair for 2001-02.
In her free time, Sarah played violin with the Windham Community Orchestra and with the Friends of Music of Guilford, VT. Always passionate about music, horseback riding, bicycling and skiing, she took up the challenge and comradeship of distance cycling, often riding with Smith friends in many local and regional events. Her favorite cycling event was the annual Harpoon/Vermont Food Bank (50-mile) "Point to Point" race. One of Sarah's favorite places to visit, bike, hike and just "re-charge" was the World Fellowship Center in the White Mountains of NH where she reconnected with many friends over the years.
Sarah, or "Dr. Kemble" as she was known by many patients, will be missed by a wide circle of friends, family and colleagues, as well as the many individuals and communities touched by her tireless dedication as physician, educator, activist, social-justice advocate, mentor, ally and friend.
A public memorial service for Sarah will be held at a later date.
Those wishing to make a donation in Sarah's name can do so to the World Fellowship Center (368 Drake Hill Road, Albany, NH. 03818)