RURAL HEALTH DOCUMENTARY EARNS PEABODY AWARD FOR GEORGIA SOUTHERN PROFESSOR

Georgia Southern University Professor Matthew Hashiguchi has won a Peabody Award for his documentary, “The Only Doctor,” which focuses on rural health and the services provided by a single doctor in southwest Georgia.

The documentary focuses on Dr. Karen Kinsell, the sole physician serving 3,000 citizens in Clay County, Georgia, near the Georgia-Alabama border. The film spotlights the plight of a community in need of medical assistance and the dedicated doctor fighting to keep her clinic’s doors open. Hashiguchi delves into Kinsell’s sacrifices for her clinic’s operations, revealing her commitment to her patients.

“Dr. Kinsell gets calls at home at all hours of the day and night,” Hashiguchi said. “She, at times, has had to pay the bills from her own bank account. But I’d say the biggest sacrifice is that she’s a doctor who does not have breaks.”

The documentary first premiered on the PBS program “Reel South” and is now available internationally on Al Jazeera’s documentary series “Witness.”