Hello World!!!

As I stated in Sunday’s post, I will be “shouting out” churches that have remarkable ministries inside or outside of the church in the “Shout out to…” series on a periodic basis.

I “shouted out” Bethesda Baptist Church in Decatur, Georgia in a previous post. The church, through the leadership of its pastor,  Rev. Terrance J. Gattis, opened the House of Grace Health Care Clinic in February. Through this clinic, low-income, uninsured adults are able to receive FREE health care including exams, evaluation by a doctor, lab work and prescription services! The clinic, located at 3567 Covington Highway in Decatur,  is housed in a space donated by the Atlanta Belvedere Seventh Day Adventist Church.

I wrote the post after reading an article about the clinic. I did not hear about the clinic through the pastor, any church members or anyone that has visited the clinic. However, after a Google search about two weeks ago produced my blog , the pastor of the church contacted me via my Facebook page and thanked me for my coverage of the clinic opening. He also gave me a update on their efforts.

“House of Grace began the year with the goal of providing free primary and prevention health care services to the uninsured in the Decatur community.  Specifically, our goal is to provide support to 1,000 uninsured patients in 2009.  To date, House of Grace has treated more than 100 uninsured patients, while logging more than 250 hours of volunteer service from our doctor, nurse and support staff,” said Gattis.

However, the clinic, which is open on the first and third Monday of each month from 6 to 9 p.m. , may have to scale back its services. Its sole doctor, Dr. C. J. Goodman, who recently opened a new practice, will only be available on one Monday per month starting in July. In addition to expressing his gratitude for my first post, Pastor Gattis also appealed me to write another post about his search for another physician to help staff the clinic.

“To help meet our goals for the year, we are desperately seeking a doctor, pa or clinical practical nurse who is willing to donate 3 to 6 hours of volunteer service per month.  Sovereign immunity protection is provided by the state, so issues of liability have been mitigated.  In short, we need someone who is willing to help us demonstrate the ethic and love of Jesus Christ and care for “the least of these” (Matt. 25:40), by blessing others with their time, talent and gifts.”

In an effort to demonstrate the clinic’s impact in a just a few months, I interviewed Pastor Gattis, Dr. Goodman and Deborah Hightower, a patient of the clinic.

The clinic is staffed by one doctor, a nurse, two medical assistants and four intake specialists – all volunteers. Potential patients travel to the clinic from as far as Loganville and Duluth to receive services and starting getting in line outside the clinic hours before the clinic opens. Only a few of those in line on each Monday are able to be evaluated at the clinic.  “The lines begin at 4 p.m.,” explained Gattis. “We hand out 12 numbers [to patients.] After that we are done.”

While the clinic is available for homeless people, none of have showed up on the clinic’s doorsteps. “We haven’t seen any indigent people,” said Gattis. “We see working people who have no insurance or people who are in between jobs. These people look like you and me.”

Such is the case for Deborah Hightower, who has been out of work for about a year. However, at her last job, she was employed on a part-time basis and did not have any health care benefits. She was excited after she heard about the clinic when she visited Bethesda Baptist with a friend. “I thought this is going to be great,” Hightower said. “I will be able to get the services I need without health insurance or any income.”

She visited the clinic months later after she began experiencing symptoms related to her high blood pressure. The first time she went to the clinic she was turned away as there many others in line ahead of her. The second time she arrived at the clinic hours earlier and was pleased with how she was treated at the clinic.

“They treated me with compassion, grace, respect and kindness,” said Hightower. “Tht’s what I got when I walked in the door. They pay attention to you, and that is what you need.”

 While patients wait to be seen by the medical staff, they have the option of receiving counseling and or prayer by Gattis or a church minister.

“When a person signs in, there is an area on the sign-in form that asks if a person would like prayer and or pastoral counseling.  On average, about one out of three of the people select yes to one or both,” explained Gattis. ” So, while they’re waiting to be seen by the doctor,  either I or one of the ministers from our church will take them to a private area to pray or provide pastoral counseling.  During this time, if we discover that a person needs additional resources (from rental assistance to MARTA cards to food and clothing), we provide what they need or direct them to the necessary resources.”

Hightower appreciated both the medical attention and the counseling she received while at the clinic. “It helps you to relieve stress and get encouragement. I haven’t had any income in the past two months.”

Dr. Goodman agreed that many of the clinic’s patients need more than just medical attention. She recalled one patient who Goodman suspected was an alcoholic.

“She didn’t come in because she was an alcoholic,” Goodman explained. “I think she came in for an annual exam. Her speech was slurred. Alcoholics have a particular syntax even when they are sober. ”

As the woman talked, Goodman listened before finally interupting her. “I said, ‘Why don’t we take care of your body, soul and spirit? Will you let me help you instead of giving you a prescription?’ ” The woman began crying as Dr. Goodman spoke. “A lot of people are sick physically, but many are sick emotionally. It is necessary to have a discerning ear.”

Dr. Goodman belives that many ailments are simply caused by poor nutrition, and patients are also able to receive nutritional counseling at the clinic. Hightower learned that many of her symptoms were caused by her nutritional habits.

“I was told to drink more water and that I was eating too much sugar and sodium,” she said with a laugh.

Although Hightower laughed as she described her eating habits, she became serious at the thought of the clinic cutting back its services or even closing. She appealed to doctors who may be thinking of volunteering their time at the clinic.

“We would not be able to receive the help that we so desperately need without you,” she said.

Doctors may contact Pastor Gattis at (404)  610-1256. Please spread the word!

Any thoughts?

P.S. I have attached one of my favorite old-timey sounding gospel songs, “Come On In the Room,” by the Georgia Mass Choir. Jesus is the ultimate doctor for sure, but He also heals through medical doctors…