Primary Care and Hope Clinic Offer Health Care to Those in Need
ceo, christy-houston foundation, community helpers, dispensary of hope, health care, healthcare, lisa terry, murfreesboro, primary care & hope clinic,
For some residents of Rutherford and Cannon counties, health insurance is an unobtainable dream. But thanks to the Primary Care & Hope Clinic in Murfreesboro, health care is not.
“It’s been interesting watching this evolve,” says Lisa Terry, the clinic’s CEO. “When I first came here, we were needed, but nothing like we’re needed today. That’s why we just keep growing, because the number of patients who need our services just keeps on growing.”
A nurse practitioner, Terry joined the clinic in 1994, just two years after it was incorporated with the help of a state grant as a not-for-profit provider of quality, affordable health care.
The growing number of patient visits – more than 18,000 in 2007 – means the clinic is scheduled to move to its fourth location in the summer of 2008, and this time the facility is custom-built to meet the clinic’s needs. Thanks to a $3.9 million grant from the charitable Christy-Houston Foundation – established with proceeds from the 1986 sale of the county-owned hospital – the clinic’s new, 23,000-square-foot digs will feature 24 patient rooms and three special-procedure treatment rooms. The facility is under construction in the new Murfreesboro Gateway district on 2.3 acres donated by the city. The clinic is turning to individuals, businesses and charities to sponsor patient rooms, which means providing the funds for furnishings and equipment. Terry says the estimate for outfitting the new clinic’s interior is about $560,000, which includes $145,000 for X-ray capabilities – an in-house luxury the clinic hasn’t enjoyed before.
Two other nonprofit organizations, Community Helpers and Dispensary of Hope, will also move to the new clinic.
A service of Middle Tennessee Medical Center, Dispensary of Hope helps the medically underserved obtain prescription medications, and Community Helpers offers emergency financial assistance to low-income families.
The Primary Care & Hope Clinic has physician volunteers and 20 paid staff members, including nurse practitioners and nurses, medical assistants, office personnel and social workers who meet with new patients to determine their financial circumstances and review their needs. The clinic accepts TennCare, the state’s answer to Medicaid, and uninsured patients are charged on a sliding scale determined by their income. Patients must present proof of residency and their latest tax return.
“The misconception sometimes is that everybody who is uninsured doesn’t work. That’s completely inaccurate,” Terry says. “The majority of our patients do have jobs, but they have jobs that don’t offer insurance – or they may have a condition that makes them uninsurable.”
In 2006, The New York Times Job Market magazine chose Terry as one of four nurses to honor nationwide in its “Tribute to Nurses” program, established in 2002. The recognition “made me really reflect on why I stay in this game,” Terry recalls. “This is a very stressful job and a very difficult patient population to serve.” Then, with tears in her eyes, she adds, “The longer I stay here and the more families I see, the more I can’t leave.”
Story by Sharon H. Fitzgerald
Photo by Brian McCord
