Good News Clinics is two months into its 25th year of providing free medical care to low income uninsured Hall County residents.
Over the years, medical services have expanded to include medications and lab services and the Sam Poole Medical Clinic was joined by the Green Warren Dental Clinic and Health Access Initiative to allow provision of dental care and specialty care referrals to those in need.
Dr. David Westfall, Good News Clinics founding physician, remembers how he and other local physicians became increasingly concerned about the unmet medical needs in the community.
“Several small groups began meeting in the community to explore options.” recalls Dr. Westfall, “Gene Beckstein (“Mr. B”) came and offered us a small corner of his building in which to start. I still remember Susie Harris, RN (and former Director of Nursing for Northeast Georgia Medical Center) saying ‘Let’s just jump in and see what happens’. We stepped out on faith, initially relying on a few volunteer physicians and nurses to staff a few hours in the evening, a couple of days a week.”
Good News Clinics had its start in 1992 when Westfall, Harris and others began seeing patients for a few hours each week in a small room at Good News at Noon on Davis Street. Other health professionals saw the need and joined them in volunteering to care for those who could not afford to see a doctor on their own.
“None of us had any idea that the current organization would ever result from such humble beginnings,” said Dr. Westfall. “As the word spread, so did the support. Northeast Georgia Medical Center (provided) support from the start. The Hall County Medical Society officially became involved a few years later, creating Health Access Initiative, a ‘wrap around’ specialty network of volunteer subspecialists…to accept referrals from the volunteer physicians at Good News at no charge to the patients.”
The support of Hall County’s medical community has been integral to the success of the clinic. “The medical community understands the healthcare needs that remain despite the Affordable Care Act and other programs,” said Allison Borchert, Executive Director. “Hall County’s uniquely generous and benevolent medical community has embraced the mission of Good News Clinics and that has made all the difference. This kind of support is not present in other communities.”
The non-medical community plays a significant role as well through financial support and volunteering to help with non-clinical needs of the clinic. Jean Peeples is the Volunteer Coordinator for the clinic. “Non-clinical volunteers are crucial in helping us meet the needs of patients,” explained Ms. Peeples. “Volunteers take on many necessary functions such as completing patient applications for services, helping with records and providing clerical support.”
Dr. Westfall agrees, “None of these things would have been possible without the abundant philanthropic support (financial and “in kind”) of the entire community – employers, concerned citizens, physicians and nurses, grateful patients, Northeast Georgia Medical Center, and our dedicated full time staff.”
Good News Clinics continues to grow and serve by providing clinical experiences and rotations to students and developing cutting edge treatment protocols for charitable clinic settings such as for heart failure and Hepatitis C. New programs such as these not only improve the clinic’s ability to treat patients successfully, but also allow the clinic to access much needed grant funding available through foundations and organizations who seek to invest in improving health care for those in need. Recent grants and donations have been awarded to GNC by local foundations like Jackson EMC Foundation and United Way of Hall County as well as organizations like the South Hall and Gainesville Rotary Clubs. Foundations who fund programs statewide and nationally such as Kaiser Permanente, Healthcare Georgia Foundation, CVS Foundation and the Georgia Charitable Care Network have also partnered with GNC to provide and expand services.
The late Dr. Sam Poole, longtime medical director for whom the medical clinic is named, shared that compassion for those struggling to find the healthcare they need and often expressed it by saying, “It is a burden to be poor, but to be poor, sick and unable to see a doctor is a tragedy.”
Good News Clinics was created to relieve this burden.
