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14,000 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0
Years of Potential Life Lost
by an area ministry, adapted it to provide a clinic with two examining rooms, a reception and office area, a handicapped-accessible bathroom, a laboratory area, a conference room and a staff restroom.
We scavenged for used equipment and were given equipment. On November 23, 2010, we opened our clinic under my Tennessee medical license as the supervising physician.
We were fortunate to hire local people as our first employees, a certified physician assistant and an office manager. The advantage of local staff is that they know most of our patients personally. In 2012, with the help of a local grant, we hired a medical assistant.
I go every month to attend in the clinic.
10 th – 90 th Percentiles
USA Mean: 8,103
YPLL before age 75, per 100,000 lives 2011 County Health Rankings: www. countyhealthrankings. org
Grundy County: 13,685
10th 20th 30th 40th 50th 60th 70th 80th 90th Percentile Ranking of All 3,144 USA Counties and County Equivalents nutrition, weight control, smoking cessation and immunizations). We also host mammography clinics.
Routine laboratory tests are performed on site; others are sent out; lab test results are discussed with the patients. We provide common medications free, and prescribe medicines that can be purchased at discount pharmacies. Outrageous price hikes in common medicines have been shocking. In June 2015, our cost for bulk doxycycline temporarily jumped from $ 70 to $ 700, and glimepride from $ 13 to $ 318. A generous donor has provided a small fund for patient assistance that we use sparingly in particular circumstances.
The clinic was established by the Beersheba Springs community to provide free medical services for the community, but we quickly became aware that the desperate need for medical care extended far beyond Beersheba; patients have come from 13 surrounding counties. Clinic days are Monday and Wednesday, 8 a. m. to 4 p. m. On Wednesdays we have a second PA-C, who volunteers. We average 30 visits / day, up to 3,000 visits a year.
The clinic does not charge fees, does not bill insurance and receives no government funding. Expenses are met entirely by voluntary donations from individual donors, patients and small local grants. In the first few years, donations were matched by a generous donor. We do not solicit support from for-profit hospitals or health insurance companies. We gratefully accept support from area businesses and friends; donations are encouraged and are necessary to the clinic’ s sustainability. The gifts mean that mountain people now have relief from pain and suffering, which they did not have before. The clinic
A volunteer radiologist comes from Oak Ridge to perform ultrasound studies, and from time to time other specialists visit the clinic. Specialist referral is challenging. Fortunately, we know specialists who see our patients either pro-bono or for a discounted fee, but some serious or complicated conditions simply go untreated. Tennessee statutes establish liability immunity for voluntary provision of health care services in the clinic unless an act or omission was the result of gross negligence or willful misconduct( Tennessee Code Ann. 63-6-708).
figure 2
We treat acute illness and minor injuries; evaluate and manage chronic illness( e. g., diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular complications of atherosclerosis, and depression); perform minor surgery; provide electrocardiograms and many inhalation therapy treatments. We focus on improving lifestyles( i. e., exercise and healthy
14 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE