It isn't every day one of our Gainesville residents makes the cover of a magazine, so I was delighted the other day to see a copy of Emory Medicine and especially to realize the person on the cover was our own Dr. Sam Poole. The magazine did a major feature on the Good News Clinic, that amazing free community medical facility that was started nine years ago and saw more than 10,000 people last year. It tells how the clinic was founded by Susie Harris, the nurse; Sam Poole, the physician; and later Ed Burnette, the dentist; and Ann Thomas, the donor that made the dental facility possible. It's quite a story.
Today the Clinic has four paid employees, but it is kept in operation by 30 volunteer physicians, 44 volunteer dentists, and 100 volunteer workers. In addition, it draws free consulting from 50 local doctors. At the Good News Clinic patients have access to free medical services, including primary and specialist care.
The story points out that the Good News project is a Christian based operation which starts its day with group prayer and unashamedly posts the 10 commandments on its walls. It recalls the discovery, some years ago, that it could qualify for $600,000 in federal money, but turned it down. "The money not only had strings but also ropes and chains attached to it," Poole is quoted as saying. "They wanted us to move to a better part of town and see a better clientele, and they wouldn't let us start our day in the clinic with a prayer or devotional." Thus, Good News is funded locally and privately.
Perhaps the most important part of this story is that it reaches physicians who have graduated from Emory University. Poole is encouraging development of free clinics to help with indigent care, and has been encouraged by some colleagues who are
developing free clinics elsewhere in Georgia. The Good News Clinic in Gainesville may be just the beginning.
This is Gordon Sawyer, from a window on historic Green street.
Monday
August 4th, 2025
2:38PM
