Three area faith-based medical clinics offer free health care to underserved
Rex Larsen | The Grand Rapids PressPhysician’s assistant Barb Grinwis examines Dennis Root, 63, of Sparta, who drove to Grand Rapids to get health care at Oasis of Hope, a free, faith-based medical clinic at 522 Leonard St NW.GRAND RAPIDS — Dennis Root was a truck driver for years but was forced into early retirement to take care of his 85-year-old mother, who has dementia.
When the Sparta resident reached out to Medicaid for help with his own ailments, he was turned down because he didn’t quite meet the income guidelines. Instead, he found help at Oasis of Hope Center, a free clinic on the West Side.
His blood pressure is under control again, and he had several suspicious moles removed, all since August.
“It’s free, and they do a real excellent job,” Root said. “I had a rash for years that my other doctor couldn’t fix, and they cleared it right up. They treat you real nice here.”
Rex Larsen | The Grand Rapids PressA prayer list hangs on an office wall at Oasis of Hope.While lawmakers in Washington argue over how best to serve the under-insured, faith-based health clinics have long been doing the hard work of helping those who need it most.
Barb Grinwis, executive director at Oasis of Hope, said she wants people to see beyond her title of physicians assistant and the white lab coat she wears. She said she wants people to see that they are worthy of good medical care because they are made in the image of God.
“I can see changes in people, just by telling them I can get their medicines for $4 or for free,” Grinwis said. “That’s the mind (change) that I see — the relief of the stress.
“Hope is one of the connections between mind and spirit.”
A person doesn’t have to be Christian to be served at Oasis of Hope, but the volunteers do. That’s one reason Oasis of Hope gets its support from grants and donations but has no hospital or consistent community support.
“We didn’t want anyone to dictate to us that we could not provide hope in Jesus’ name,” Grinwis said.
Oasis of Hope is explicit in its mission to provide faith-based health care. Across town, at Catherine’s Health Center, it’s implied but not overt.
| IF YOU GO |
"God" clinics
Following are some of the faith-based health clinics operating in Grand Rapids:
Oasis of Hope Center
Where: 522 Leonard St. NW
Contact: Call 451-8868, fax 451-8899 or e-mail info@oasis-of-hope-center.org
Health Intervention Services
Where: 15 Andre St. SE
Contact: Call 475-8446 or visit hisgr.org
Catherine’s Health Center
Where:224 Carrier St. NE
Contact: Call 336-8800 or visit catherinescare.org
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“Not really, no, other than it’s in a church basement,” said Tammy Singer, a patient at Catherine’s on the Northeast Side. “They don’t try to force any (religion) on you.”
Catherine’s is a 1,200-square-foot clinic beneath St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, one of its partners. But it is not exclusively Catholic, and its employees and volunteers are quiet about their faith.
“We get that quite often — ‘Why do you do this?’” said Executive Director Karen Kaashoek.
More than a decade after taking the job, Kaashoek said she still sometimes asks herself that question. She was asked to come to the clinic as a registered nurse for Saint Mary’s Health Care. In 2008, when Saint Mary’s decided to re-allocate resources away from the clinic, she was told she could return to the hospital.
“That was a challenge for me,” she said. “I felt what I was doing was a mission, something I was called to, but I was doing it without risk.”
If anything, needs will increase
Catherine McAuley, founder of the religious order Sisters of Mercy, for whom the clinic was named, once said: “Put your whole trust in God. He will never see you want for the means to do his work.”
Katy Batdorff | The Grand Rapids PressNurse practitioner Peggy Hatfield, left, jokes with patient Tammy Singer during a routine visit to Catherine’s Health Center, a free, faith-based medical clinic at 224 Carrier St. NE.Kaashoek said a number of faith-based institutions support Catherine’s. But with 400 patients a month, and turning half that many away, the needs are many, she said.
Staffers said the center has a bunker feel and the camaraderie of war buddies.
“This is as close to a mission field as I will ever get,” said nurse practitioner Peggy Hatfield.
No one here sees Washington’s health-care reform taking their jobs.
Even if health care sees change, the poor will get the minimum level of service, Kaashoek said.
“Access is still going to be a problem,” she said. “And we are committed to this population.”
“The needs are going to be even greater,” predicted Dr. Laura VanderMolen, medical director for Health Intervention Services, a sliding-scale clinic on the Southeast Side.
“There’s going to be a time when clinics like ours and Catherine’s and Oasis of Hope are going to need even more help.”
VanderMolen said it probably will be six to seven years before health-care reform trickles down to the neediest.
“The reality is: It’s not going to happen for years and the need is going to go up and up,” she said.
New college grads line up
Health Intervention Services, supported by a coalition of faith-based institutions and churches, sees more than 1,000 patients a month. It recently opened slots to see urgent-care patients, only to watch them immediately fill up. Sometimes, people must wait several months to be taken in as a regular primary-care patient.
Katy Batdorff | The Grand Rapids PressDentist John VanderKolk works on Ernesto Anaya, 25, at Health Intervention Services Clinic, a free, faith-based outreach for patients who cannot afford health care. The clinic is at 15 Andre St. SE.Among the needy: new college graduates whose employers don’t offer health insurance.
“Dental (insurance) is one of the first things to go,” said Dr. John VanderKolk, a volunteer dentist.
Medicaid just dropped dental coverage this summer.
“We try to save teeth,” VanderKolk said. “If it’s a front tooth — that’s their dignity.”
The clinic offers dental and eye care, as well as physical therapy, in addition to primary care. It relies on contributions and the efforts of 135 volunteers.
“When patients come here, they’re usually told why we’re here — because of Christ’s love — but they don’t have to believe,” VanderMolen said.
“We want them to know they’re made in the image of God. If they don’t believe that, that’s OK. We’re still going to give them good medical care.”
