Cumberland River Hospital in Celina is once again opened after months of hard work by J.J. Presley. The hospital closed last June and Presley bought the hospital later in the hopes of restoring it to serve citizens in need of immediate medical care in Clay County.

Presley, who is a Cumberland County native and physician assistant, had to wait months to get a medical provider number from health officials.

Presley has hired Dr. Harry Horne who has worked at Cumberland River Hospital in the past. Dr. Horne is joined by four other physicians at the facility.

Presley is a native of Crossville, Tennessee. He graduated from Cumberland County High School in 1985. Presley went on to graduate from Roane State Community College and Tennessee Tech. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Science from Trevecca Nazarene University and completed his physician assistant post graduate program.

Presley has served as an emergency medical technician since 1985. He was also a member of the Cumberland County Board of Education from 1998 to 2002.

Presley was named the 2017 Top Physician/Physician Assistant of Crossville, the Physician Assistant of the Year by the Tennessee Academy of Physicians Assistants in 2004. He also served on the Tennessee Committee of Physician Assistants for 8 years serving four of them as chairman of the committee. Presley was also named a lifetime HERO Physician Assistant in the United States. Only three individuals have been bestowed that honor.

Presley worked at several rural hospitals in his career including in Jellico, Jamestown, Celina and Crossville. He had a full time internal medical practice with Dr. John Sherrill at Crossville Medical Group.