New location will provide primary care link between health department, Piedmont
Volunteers who help staff a mobile health clinic that comes to Gilmer County monthly hope a change in location will increase the number of patients receiving care.
The Bethesda Community Clinic is based in Cherokee County, where a brick and mortar location also operates, but it’s seen good turnouts when visiting Gilmer County once a month since last February.
The Bethesda Mobile Health Clinic, which is coordinated by a group of volunteers from several local churches, has used parking lots at the Gilmer Community Food Pantry, and most recently Faith, Hope and Charity Recycle Store, to stage the free clinic.
“We want people to come,” said Bob Surrusco, a Gilmer County resident and local volunteer coordinator. “This is an ecumenical outreach from Good Samaritan Catholic Church, Hope Lutheran Church, the Methodist Church and Cherry Log Christian Church. You don’t have to be one of these denominations. We want people to feel comfortable no matter what denomination you are.”
As of Wednesday, Jan. 18, the clinic will serve patients the third Wednesday of each month at the Gilmer County Health Department, 28 Southside Church Street. It will be set up in the parking lot from 10 a.m-2 p.m. or until the last patient is seen.
Surrusco said the free clinic’s staff enjoyed working with Faith, Hope and Charity to bring the mobile outreach effort there, but having it within walking distance of both the health department and Piedmont ER just makes sense.
“People really couldn’t see us (that well) at Faith, Hope and Charity, and it’s not a destination unless you’re going to one of the thrift stores. (Also), it wasn’t really in easy walking distance from anything,” he added. “The health department is a destination, and this will give us another link in the health care community in Gilmer County. Most of their staff is bilingual, and on one side of us is the health department, while on the other side is Piedmont. If we have to send somebody to be admitted or for further treatment, all they have to do is walk across the parking lot.”
The mobile clinic will be able to provide certain primary care services to patients who first go to the health department, but find out they can’t receive those services there.
“Unfortunately for the patients, a lot of them don’t realize what the health department does. They go there looking for primary care, but they can’t get it because the health department isn’t equipped to render that sort of care. They can’t take care of those needs,” Surrusco said.
“This will certainly benefit the county,” said Jennifer King, the North Georgia Health District’s public information officer. “It’s going to broaden the ability of both the health department and this mobile unit to provide healthcare and outreach to the community, especially to people in need who may be uninsured or underinsured.”
The mobile clinic offers medical visits with a doctor or nurse practitioner, as well as certain prescription medications and blood and urine tests, all at no charge. Also offered are certain health education and mental health services, specialist referrals and patient assistance programs.
The clinic staff doesn’t ask for proof of insurance, income or residency, Surrusco said. You just have to be able to “fog a mirror” to be seen, he noted.
“We have a formulary of about 100 drugs, and we can give a 30, 60 or 90-day supply (at no cost). They can see the doctor, and if the doctor wants some simple tests done, the nurse can perform them and give the results to the doctor to make a further evaluation. We also have the ability to do tele-health, and we can see another whole group of patients with telemedicine,” Surrusco said. “No one should be concerned about getting substandard care when coming to this clinic. They’ll get the same level of quick care as if they were being seen somewhere like Piedmont Mountainside or Cherokee Northside.”
Having a healthier workforce in Gilmer County could be one benefit of the free health care being offered here, Surrusco noted. “Having healthy employees means less time out from work, which directly impacts the bottom line of a business,” he said.
Around 14 patients were usually seen in the four-hour periods the clinic was at the Recycle Store. If the numbers of volunteers and patients increase with the move to the health department, it could result in the clinic being brought there more often.
“If we can get more physicians and nurses to volunteer and help us, we would love to be able to do it every Wednesday. We’re very much interested in more volunteers whether they’re licensed health care providers or not,” Surrusco said. “We’re also looking at going to other areas to further spread this health and safety net for our citizens. The end goal is, once we get this expanded, having a clinic in Jasper and one in Blue Ridge.”
Anyone interested in volunteering for the Bethesda Community Clinic, can contact Bob Surrusco at 706- 273-4419 or bobsurrusco@yahoo.com.