Community and Volunteer Service - Florida Academy of Family ...

The Story of SamaritanClinic of Barnabas Centerby Tom Washburn, MD, Fernandina BeachThe story of the Samaritan Clinic in Fernandina Beach representspeople and events coming together at the right place and at the righttime. Dr. Tom Washburn, in his role as primary care physician for theNassau County Health Department, “happened” to discover that oneof his patients was homeless and living in a homeless shelter inFernandina Beach.Dr. Washburn met with the pastor of the Assembly ofGod Church, which sponsors the homeless shelter, andstarted going to the shelter once a week to learn whatkinds of health challenges the residents were experiencing.He was soon talking with Pastor Shick about startinga free clinic for homeless persons and found thatPastor Shick had been thinking about such a clinic foreight years. They even discussed using the church’sSunday school area for the clinic, which would be openon an evening other than Sunday. Shortly thereafter, Dr.Washburn sat down with Susan Holden-Dodge, theexecutive director of Barnabas Center, to coordinateservices with their Crisis Center. For 20 years, BarnabasCenter has served people in need of emergency food,clothing, shelter and so on. Conveniently, this buildingoriginally served as a dental office and was set up witha waiting room, individual offices and an examinationroom. Working together with Barnabas Center’s Boardof Directors and a few key community support people,a committee was formed to develop the details of theclinic to be housed at the Barnabas Center and to becalled Samaritan Clinic.Many people in the community readily came forwardand generously supported the start-up and maintenanceof Samaritan Clinic. Director of the NassauCounty Health Department Dr. Eugenia Ngo-Seidelhas not only provided the clinic with cogent ideas andmoral support but also her medical services. Directorof Baptist Medical Center-Nassau Jim Mayo and thehospital’s Board of Directors have provided the clinicwith access to laboratory and radiology services, aswell as a funding grant for start-up costs and ongoinghelp with prescription costs.The Samaritan Clinic has been developed as a healthcare provider in the State’s Volunteer Health CareProvider Program. Other than the part-time cliniccoordinator, all of the staff members — health careprofessionals and non-professionals — are volunteers.That has enabled the clinic and its medical providers toserve under the umbrella of the state’s sovereignimmunity from malpractice lawsuits. The clinicaccepts for services any person older than 12 yearswho does not have health insurance and whose selfdeclaredincome is less than 200 percent of the FederalPoverty Level.The community’s outpouring of volunteers has beenamazing and gratifying. There are presently eight medicalproviders. Mental health professionals, organized bySutton Place Behavioral Health, Inc., have also volunteeredtheir services at Samaritan Clinic. This hasenabled the clinic to provide mental health and substanceabuse screening as part of the primary care program.Participating nurses have come from private offices, hospitalsand the Health Department. Some are retired nurseswho want to support this community effort.18