Free Clinic
Date: April 18, 2005

It’s the month’s second Tuesday at the Salvation Army’s Rome Emergency Service Center, and a company of medical professionals is ready.

For the next few hours, they will tend to 15 or more men and women and perhaps the occasional child, who, without these dedicated volunteers, would have no health care. Thepatients are Floyd County’s forgotten. Homeless, dirty, hungry and without family, they spend their days looking for the basics — food, shelter, clothing and a friend.

When they arrive at the Salvation Army, the friends are waiting. There is no judgment, only hearts of compassion.

Now in its second year, the free clinic depends on the kindness of others for donations and services, and a growing number of Floyd employees are among them.

I only recently began volunteering, after a fateful encounter with Lucy Megginson, a Floyd nurse who works in Women’s and Children’s Services.

I had reached a time in my life where I was very much wanting to find a way to give something back to the community, but I didn't know what. It just happened that Lucy asked if I would precept her for school. In one conversation she shared what she was doing at the Salvation Army, and I just couldn't get it off my mind.

It has been one of those things that really leaves me feeling good, blessed when I leave and in awe of the willingness of health care staff to give of themselves.

The volunteers range from social workers and laboratory technicians to pharmacists, physicians, nurses and even a psychiatrist. Among them are Dr. Billy Burke, a retired physician and member of the Board of Floyd Healthcare Management Inc., Dr. Rebekah Lowrey, medical director of Floyd’s new Outpatient Surgery Center, Dr. David Childs, a Floyd Family Medicine physician, Dr. Kevin Hardwell, a Floyd Emergency Physician and Denise Oldham, a Floyd nurse. Lucy serves as the volunteer coordinator and Rome radiologist Dr. Steven Pruett has taken an active leadership role in bringing the clinic to fruition.

Some of the patients have chronic conditions and are not taking needed medications for one reason or another. Some of them just seem to want someone to talk to and come just because it is available.

The clinic is truly a collaborative effort, borne out of a soup kitchen at First United Methodist Church and a group of health professionals and church members with a desire to put the gospel of Christ into further action.

Donations of exam tables and other medical equipment from Floyd, the services of physicians, nurses, pharmacists, social workers and other caring individuals, and space at the Salvation Army mission, led to the clinic opening in November of 2003.

Since that time, volunteers at the clinic have dispensed more than $10,000 in prescription medicines — all donated, tended to 200 or more patients and donated more than 500 hours of their time to the free clinic.

I wasn't sure going into this how I would feel. I had never really been exposed to that kind of situation and forced to realize how difficult life can be. Sometimes the situation is of the person's own making and at other times it is just a run of unfortunate events.

Working at the clinic makes me feel that I don't do nearly enough to help others less fortunate than myself. It is an amazing experience both personally and spiritually. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve in such a small role.

Captain Joe Anderson of the Salvation Army said the clinic fills a void for the men and women served by the mission.

“The patients are very appreciative,” the Captain said. “A lot of them don’t know where they would turn to with the medical problems they have if they could not come here.”

“Dr. Pruett and these volunteers have done an outstanding job. He is a man who cares about our community, about the citizens of our community and he and his volunteers are doing their part to help those who are less fortunate. They have gone above and beyond the call of duty to take time out of their busy schedules. There is no pay, and yet they are looking to do it more than once a month. It is outstanding that they see the need and they want to meet that need.”

As for Lucy, she says working at the clinic is a dream come true.

“To me, this is the purest form of healthcare — you have someone who has nothing and expects nothing and you give them something they need.”

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