News

'Available, affable and able' pediatrician Ora Wells to retire

Dr. Ora Wells will retire March 31.

By Lightning Reports, Published: February 11, 2022

Pediatrician Ora Wells, who has served the Henderson and Transylvania County communities for 40 years, has announced his retirement from Hendersonville Pediatrics, PA. Dr. Wells' last day with the practice is March 31.

Wells earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. After completing his internship and residency at Charlotte Memorial Hospital (now Atrium Health’s Carolinas Medical Center), he stayed on as a clinical professor in pediatrics with the hospital and UNC at Chapel Hill for two years.
Wells’s interest in pediatrics began in medical school. “My favorite mentors were in the pediatric allergy and cardiology sections,” Wells said. “The pediatric ward was the most challenging and very sick children the most concerning; so, like a moth drawn to a flame, I chose to specialize in pediatrics.”
While volunteering at a summer camp for children with diabetes at Eagles Nest in Pisgah Forest, Wells and his wife, Susan, fell in love with Western North Carolina. In 1982, he joined Hendersonville Pediatrics and established the practice’s office in Brevard, where he went on to serve the remainder of his career.

“I have taken care of three and occasionally four generations of families,” Dr. Wells said. “I tell families it’s a hoot to watch a child grow up and an honor to watch a family grow.”
Wells said his mottoes have been “saving lives and stomping out disease” and being “available, affable, and able.” That’s evident in the ways he has served not only his patients but the community as a whole during his career in WNC. For more than 35 years, Wells has been part of a birthing center team, served on multiple hospital committees, including the Transylvania Regional Hospital Board of Trustees, Transylvania Public Health, child abuse and fatality teams for Transylvania county, and other community boards.
Retirement will offer Wells more time with his wife, grown children and five grandchildren, opportunities for travel and visits, more time to pursue his hobbies of bagpiping, clogging, motorcycle riding, driving his ‘54 Chevy pickup, hiking, and maybe another scuba dive or two. “I am excited about my community and plan to be involved as a retired physician with initiatives to bring health to our county and WNC," he said.
With 70 years of ongoing care, Hendersonville Pediatrics is committed to providing quality, state-of-the-art, comprehensive and compassionate healthcare for the children of Western North Carolina. For more information or to schedule an appointment, visit www.hendersonvillepediatrics.com.