CLINIC STAFF

The Volunteers In Medicine staff coordinate our volunteers delivering medical treatment, manage an on site dispensary, and provide lifestyle seminars for our patients geared toward better health outcomes.

Joel Henderson, CFRE

President and CEO


Joel Henderson has spent most of his 30-year career in leadership service for nonprofits and healthcare management. As President and CEO of Volunteers in Medicine Chattanooga, Henderson leads a small staff which works alongside 100 volunteers, that provide $1M pro bono in primary health care and $1M in patient prescription assistance annually. The VIM Chattanooga clinic delivers compassionate care for over 2,000 patient visits each year at no cost to uninsured, financially eligible individuals residing in Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia.


Henderson is passionate about helping people for the common good. Over the years he has advocated for the uninsured / underinsured and served on regional and state community health consortiums. Additional board leadership has included Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, PRSA Lookout Chapter and American Cancer Society. He’s also a third generation Rotarian Paul Harris Fellow and active member of the Chattanooga Club.


Henderson is a local graduate from Southern Adventist University (’94) and a believer in continued professional development as an alum of Leadership Orlando (’07), Leadership Chattanooga (’13), and Leadership Cleveland (’17). 

Heather Arnold

Administrative Assistant


Heather joined VIM in August 2023. She has worked in the legal and medical field for the majority of her career. Heather is an entrepreneur as a local small business owner. She has a passion for community and people which drew her to come to work at the VIM clinic. 

Ray Bell, BSN, RN

Nurse Manager


Ray joined the VIM Chattanooga team in Fall 2024. He brings over 20 years of direct nursing and administrative experience into his professional role. Ray received his Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the Chamberlain College of Nursing in Addison, IL. He is passionate about his profession and compassionate for the VIM patients and the care provided.

Bailey Fraebel

Development and Outreach Manager


Bailey joined VIM in the Spring of 2024, however she is not a new face to local community organizations and businesses. She has a passion for helping people and has served in numerous local capacities with demonstrated positive impacts in community engagement, special events, marketing and relationship building. She is a graduate of the University of Tennessee Chattanooga with a BS in Early Childhood Education and Special Education. 

Kristen Curtis-Gortney, CPhT

Clinic Manager


Over the past 18 years since joining the VIM staff, Kristen has provided leadership in various capacities for VIM including managing the onsite Dispensary and Patient Prescription Assistance program. She received her Pharmacy Tech training from Chattanooga State Community College and obtained her national certification in 2007.  In May 2025, Kristen was promoted to the position of Interim Clinic Manager.  She has a long commitment and passion to help our patients daily in the clinic. 

Monique Rubalcava, MA 

Dispensary Coordinator 


 Monique is a registered and Nationally Certified Medical Assistant and Behavior Technician. Besides leading VIM’s Patient Assistant Program, she additionally provides support in the clinic’s lab and bilingual in Spanish to help us better connect with all our patients. 

Michelle Turner

Front Office and Volunteer Coordinator


Michelle joined VIM in August 2015. She received her B.S. in Psychology from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She spent 4 years as the Program Director for the Georgia Firefighters Burn Foundation.