Church-run clinics help families get needed care

By Steven Skelley*

ORLANDO, Fla. (UMNS)-Having seizures but no insurance, Melissa Whaley said seeing a doctor was out of the question-until she learned about Shepherd's Hope Health Center. "There was nobody in the world to help me, but this place helped me," she said. "It was my first time here today, and I met the doctor for the first time, and he shook my hand, and he looked at me as a person, not a paycheck."

Whaley received a free doctor's consultation, free medication and, most importantly, compassionate care. Shepherd's Hope Health Center was organized a decade ago by a local United Methodist church and today includes nine health care centers in the Orlando area run by 2,000 volunteers from 20 churches. Just as the Good Shepherd cared for each of his sheep, the center serves people without access to insurance or medical care.

The Rev. William S. Barnes, senior pastor at Orlando's St. Luke's United Methodist Church, said the ministry is simply "caring people caring for other people."

"We have so many people who are working part-time jobs in the (theme) parks, in the entertainment community, a lot of persons who are involved in the hospitality industry who don't have insurance benefits," he said.

Hope and healing
More than 60,000 people have found hope and healing since Barnes felt called to begin the ministry in 1995. "I was walking on the beach … at Sanibel Island, Fla., minding my own business, and I had an epiphany from God to start a clinic," he said.

Barnes sent out a call for volunteers, and 200 people showed up to help. "The people, the places and pieces" fell together, he said, and the first Shepherd's Hope Health Center opened its doors within six months.

"When we give ourselves to God's power and vision, there is no limit to what we can do, to what a difference we can make," said Barnes.

All positions in the clinics, from the doctors and nurses to the clerical workers, are voluntary.

Most doctors volunteer one shift a month.

Nann Carmine is a schoolteacher who volunteers in the pharmacy. "If we can keep the flow going, we can see 30 patients in an evening with two doctors," she said.

In 2006 alone, Shepherd's Hope volunteers donated services valued at more than $1.8 million.

Barnes believes the medical professionals who volunteer their time and expertise benefit from their service, too. It reminds them why they were called to healing in the first place, he said.

Family setting
Shepherd's Hope does not offer emergency care, but provides the kind of services patients would receive in a family practice setting. Commonly treated illnesses include upper respiratory infections, skin disorders, gynecological concerns and urinary tract infections.

Patients are eligible if they have incomes at or below 200 percent of the poverty level, are uninsured and are not eligible for government-assisted health care programs. Once treated, the patients are assisted in finding a permanent source of medical care, whenever possible.

Barnes calls the clinic ministry a "natural outgrowth of who we are here at St. Luke's." The name Luke comes from a physician in the Bible, and the church always has seen itself as a healing ministry for the community, said Barnes.

Patients and their families seem generally "overwhelmed with gratitude," he said. "We're just pleased to hear that there are things like this in existence," said Tonya Scott and her husband, William, who brought in their 1-year-old son, Seth, for a checkup.

"I love that there's people that love us enough to be here for us," said Melissa Whaley, who visited the clinic after hearing about it from friends. "God sent them to us to help us."

*Skelley is a freelance writer based in Beverly Hills, Fla.