Front Porch Pediatrics in Ooltewah is under construction at 6847 Mountain View Road.
Contributed Photo
• Location: 6847 Mountain View Road in Ooltewah
• Owners: Dr. Kathy Tun and her husband, Jonathan
• What's new: Tun, a pediatrician for the past decade, is building an office in Ooltewah. The 4,300-square-foot facility is set to open in November. Meanwhile, Tun is working part time at the Urgent Care Center at T.C. Thompson's Children's Hospital. Tun practiced for seven years with Dr. Minnie Vance on McCallie Avenue.
• Why relocate: "So many of my patients were coming from Cleveland and Ooltewah all the way to our little office downtown, and I realized that there was not a pediatric medical practice in Ooltewah," Tun said. "Ooltewah is a rapidly growing area, with a large population of young families and children, and I know there is a need and great interest by the community for a pediatric practice out there." Dr. Mathew Roberts will be opening an obstetrics facility next door.
• Plans: "We are hoping that another pediatrician will be able to join on to the practice in less than a year after I start. Meanwhile, I will be a solo practitioner, getting to know my patients better, and this gives me a chance to establish a new patient base, while building on an old one."
• Name: "It is called Front Porch Pediatrics because Dr. Vance and her partner of 50 years, Dr. Eleanor Stafford, practiced out of a little gray house and when it got busy and more crowded, they enclosed the front porch and it became the waiting room. The name is somewhat of an homage to the work started by these two beautiful, pioneering pediatricians, and it hopes to convey the warm welcome that the South is so well known for."