It was the winter of 2023, and Donna Cudd had a letter she needed to fax.
It was important to fax the letter.
She wanted to get it out quickly, and “Dolly doesn’t do text or email,” Cudd explained.
Dolly is Cudd’s first cousin – Dolly Parton. Their mothers were sisters, both born in the tiny community of Lockhart, on the eastern edge of Union County.
Cudd and Parton, four years apart, spent time together growing up – in Union and in Parton’s hometown of Sevierville, Tennessee.
Parton is, of course, one of country music’s most beloved entertainers. She’s also a widely revered philanthropist, and Cudd hoped she might be interested in supporting a project that would make a difference in Union.
Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System had announced construction of a new Union Medical Center, and the Spartanburg Regional Foundation, which serves as the fundraising arm of the hospital system, was embarking on a campaign to pay for enhancements to the planned medical facility and campus.
Cudd didn't have Parton’s home fax number, but she was able to get it from her brother, Dwight Puckett. He played drums in Parton’s earliest band and made his living as a musician ever since.
The fax got through, and within a day, "a phone call came from Dolly’s assistant saying that she’d like to donate,” Cudd recalled.
Parton made a $100,000 contribution to the construction of a healing garden on the hospital campus.
The garden was unveiled on Monday as part of a ribbon-cutting ceremony that drew leaders from Union and Spartanburg.
The new, $55 million Union Medical Center will officially open on Feb. 11. The hospital totals nearly 100,000 square feet and replaces the former Wallace Thomson Hospital facility, which healthcare system leaders describe as aging, inefficient, and in need of constant repairs.
Situated on a 48-acre campus along Highway 176, just north of the city of Union, the new medical facility features emergency care, imaging services, Gibbs Cancer Center infusion services, a Bearden-Josey Center for Breast Health site, 12 inpatient beds, medical offices for outpatient care, and more.
In the past, patients have had to travel to multiple sites – even to Spartanburg, depending on their need – to access these various services. Having everything on one campus is “a huge win for healthcare in Union,” said Dr. Natashia Jeter, a Union native who came back to her hometown to practice as an OB/GYN.
According to Cudd, one of Parton’s conditions for making a donation was that she be invited to the ribbon-cutting. She was unable to attend in person, but she sent a video message that was played at the event.
“Union holds a very special place in my heart,” Parton said. “My family’s roots in this area run deep.”
And from Cudd’s account, the family bond was always strong.
As a child, Cudd visited family frequently in Tennessee. She was even in attendance when cousin Dolly, then age 10, performed one of her earliest TV appearances – on the Cas Walker Show in Knoxville.
Cudd’s mother, Dorothy Jo, co-wrote one of Parton’s early hits, “Daddy Was an Old Time Preacher Man.” The song was inspired by Cudd’s and Parton’s grandfather.
In her video message, Parton said she hopes the healing garden will be a “place of peace, hope, love, and comfort for patients, families and other community members who visit the hospital.”
Other enhancements funded by donors to the Spartanburg Regional Foundation include a chapel, a paved walking trail, and outdoor eating areas for staff members and visitors. The foundation raised more than $1 million, overall.
Dr. Bill James was instrumental in raising money for the projects. His career as an OB/GYN was based in Spartanburg, but James grew up in Union and said he’s grateful for his upbringing there.
James and his wife, Brenda, have been involved in numerous Spartanburg Regional Foundation fundraising efforts over the years, and the Union Medical Center presented an exciting opportunity to bring things full circle.
“I thought there would be people who live in Union who would be interested in donating, but I was also thinking of people who haven’t lived here in a long time but have a deep bond to the place,” he said.
Parton was never a Union resident, but James thought she might be one of those with a connection they’d like to honor.
It was at a Union High School reunion that James saw his former classmate Cudd and approached her about the possibility of getting in touch with her cousin.
James wrote a letter introducing himself as a friend of Parton’s extended family and making the case for how much the new medical facility would help the people of Union County. Cudd’s cover letter vouched for James’ perspective as a Union native and a physician.
Rural hospitals have faced tremendous challenges in recent decades, and many had been worried about the future of care in Union County.
“If you live in Carlisle or Santuck, in southern Union County, it’s a 50-mile drive to Spartanburg,” James noted. Now, a significant slate of medical services is guaranteed to residents for generations to come.
“Health care in Union is entering a whole new era,” he added.
As for Cudd, who remained in Union — she served as probate judge for Union County from 1989 to 2015 — and enjoyed her cousin's musical journey mostly from afar, she was pleased about what the new hospital means for her and her neighbors.
"I live about two miles away from here," she said. "I'm really excited."