File photo from when Community Health of East Tennessee celebrated Health Center Week in August. Some of CHET’s staff gathered for a picture outside the building.

By Charlotte Underwood

LAFOLLETTE, TN. (WLAF)- Community Health of East Tennessee (CHET) is WLAF’s Business of the Week. The clinic has announced exciting news about the addition of a dentist to its staff and how that will benefit Campbell County.

The health clinic offers a full range of health services to fit the needs of the community, handling primary care, pediatric needs, medication assistance, endocrinology, in-house labs, x rays, and more. The addition of the dental clinic will be a bonus for the area.

“We have a new dentist, Dr. Tyler Meister, and are currently working on credentialing with insurance companies. We are currently seeing patients who do not have dental insurance. We have a sliding fee program for our dental services based on household income and size,” said CHET Chief Operating Officer (COO) Penny Etter.

Community Health of East Tennessee (CHET) has added a new dentist, Dr. Tyler Meister to its staff. The clinic accepts most insurances and offers a sliding scale based on income for the un-insured or under-insured.

Community Health has been working on establishing a dental clinic since last year.

“It’s such a need for our community. Not only will we be able to care for those who have dental insurance, we will also have the ability to help those who are uninsured or have TennCare. This will be a big bonus to our area,” Etter said, adding that “many people don’t realize how important dental health is to your wellness and that poor dental health can lead to many other health issues.”

The health clinic is a cornerstone of the community and plays an integral role in the health and wellbeing of Campbell County citizens.

The community clinic started as a grassroots nonprofit organization 44 years ago and “has grown to be a service agency providing integral health and social services to Campbell County.”

According to Etter, CHET serves thousands of patients each year.

“We offer in-house lab and X-ray, medication assistance, primary care, pediatrics, endocrinology and we just opened our dental clinic,” Etter said.

The fully staffed clinic provides much needed medical care to the community and is “excited to now have the addition of dental care as well.”

“Our employees are more than co-workers; we are family. I am so thankful for our staff and their commitment to our patients,” Etter said,

Community Health of East Tennessee began in January of 1980 as TN Respiratory Clinics. The clinic was also called REACHES for a while. The clinic became a Federally Qualified Health Center in 2012.

CHET accepts most insurance plans and offers a sliding fee scale for uninsured or underinsured patients.

The clinic offers Health Care, Pediatrics, Endocrinology, Behavioral Health, Black lung, Recovery, a Veteran’s Affairs clinic, dental health and more. 

Community Health of East Tennessee is located at 130 Independence Lane, in LaFollette.  Call 423.562.1705 or visit CHET’s website.

(WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED 2/21/2025-6AM)

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