Jim Cheeks, a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is a nurse practitioner and a co-founder of Mt. Juliet Family Care.

Jim began his medical career as a nurse in the fast-paced world of hospital emergency rooms and intensive care units in Texas then California and finally in Tennessee.

At work, he was a critical care expert to very sick patients; at home, he was the family "medical expert" - helping to care for more common ailments such as stomach aches and ear infections. Seeing how his help could lift the spirits of loved ones and strangers alike, Jim was inspired to broaden his training and became a Nurse Practitioner in 2000. Four years later he fulfilled a dream and opened Mt. Juliet Family Care with Bruce McLaughlin.

Jim and his wife, Shelley, are avid travelers. Together, the couple has backpacked across Europe, explored Australia and New Zealand; trekked through Africa on a safari; camped at the base of Mt. McKinley, in Alaska's Denali National Park; and have even done mission work in Mexico and Fiji. Of all his travels, Jim is fondest of his time spent in Fiji, and if you have time, Jim has some thrilling and touching stories about operating a rural medical clinic in the jungles of a remote Fijian island.

Jim enjoys golfing, traveling and "making memories" with his wife and four daughters.