Free health clinic in need of patients
By Gale Horton Gay
gale@dekalbchamp.com
A new health clinic that opened its doors in Decatur in February is in desperate need of an essential element: patients. The House of Grace health care clinic offers low-income uninsured adults exams and evaluation by a doctor as well as lab work and prescription services, all at no charge.
Terrance Gattis, senior pastor of Bethesda Baptist Church, which runs the clinic, said that during the first two evenings it was open in February it only attracted two to three patients. The facility is staffed and has the resources to treat as many as 30 patients on the first Monday of each month from 6 to 9 p.m.
The clinic is located in space donated by Atlanta Belvedere Seventh Day Adventist Church at 3567 Covington Highway where the Adventist church previously operated a school. Now patients have a roomy waiting room, a lab for drawing blood and an exam room.
There’s also another large space where the clinic can expand when the time comes, said Gattis. “Health care is a right and not a privilege, and everyone (regardless of income) should have access to quality health care,” is one of the principles of the clinic as stated on its Web site.
The clinic is set up to provide those 18 years of age and older with non-emergency primary care services and screenings such as for blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, prostate, HIV/AIDS as well as pap smears, etc. Individuals whose incomes are at or below 20 percent of the federal poverty level are eligible to receive services. For example, one individual not exceeding a monthly income of $1,805 would be eligible as would a family of four whose monthly income does not exceed $3,675.
Patients are seen and treated by C. J. Goodman, a family practice physician who has donated her services and three to five medical assistants, according to Gattis. A nearby Rite-Aid has partnered with the clinic to provide patients with prescriptions at a discount. If another doctor can be found to donate services, he said the clinic can be expanded to an additional day each week. And he would like to add a mobile clinic next year if all goes well.
Because of the donations of space, equipment and personnel, the clinic’s current operating budget of $7,000 will keep it running for about the next six months, according to Gattis. He hopes to raise enough funds to cover an annual budget of $15,000 to $25,000. So far the clinic’s Web site (www.mybethesda.org) has proved a good resource as $2,000 in donations came in last month via online contributions.
“I don’t believe in just preaching you into heaven or your soul being saved,” said Gattis, adding that eternal life is important and so is abundant living on Earth. Gattis does not have a health care background, however, the former Coca-Cola executive, who currently works in resource development for Habitat for Humanity, said he’s operated several businesses and getting a new venture up and running is not difficult for him.
Asked what sparked the idea for the clinic, Gattis related the story of a man who attended a health fair that the church held. A doctor said the man, who came in complaining of chest pains had high blood pressure and needed to be rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital.
A short time after that, Gattis attended a meeting at another church concerning starting a clinic in which patients would pay for services on a sliding scale basis and doctors would be paid. Gattis said he agreed with the general concept but not with the payment component.
“We all have people in our churches who need health care,” he said, explaining that there are seven churches surrounding his in the area around Covington Highway and Memorial Drive.
Gattis said his biggest challenge was finding a doctor willing to donate his or her time. He’s hoping to find an additional doctor to join the project so that the clinic can expand. An open house and dedication will be held at 7 p.m. on March 19 at the clinic, located on Atlanta Belvedere Seventh Day Adventist Church’s campus in the building directly behind the sanctuary.
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