Church Health-inspired clinic to serve Desoto
Trinity Health Center looking to fill what it sees as a tremendous need
Church Health has inspired dozens of other charitable clinics across the country, but none are nearer to the Memphis organization than Desoto County’s Trinity Health Center.
Like Church Health, the under-construction Trinity Health will be a faith-based nonprofit providing health care to uninsured and underinsured patients in its county. Kimberly Remak Kimberly Remak’s goal is for Trinity to open in April.
“We don’t want to turn a soul away,” she said.
The Horn Lake-based Trinity Health’s proximity to Church Health in Crosstown Concourse — about 17 miles apart — benefits the goals of both operations, clinic leaders say.
Founded in 1987 by physician and ordained United Methodist minister Dr. Scott Morris, Church Health provides health care for those lacking access to it in Shelby County. It also runs health education and prevention programs.
“We see people try to access Church Health from Desoto,” said Ann Langston, Church Health’s senior director of strategic partnerships. “We have worked with a couple of groups in the last 20 years in Desoto County and knew the need was tremendous there.”
Nearly 30,000 people live in Desoto County uninsured, per 2016 Census data, and cost is a hurdle for those wanting quality health care, Remak said.
Patients will pay to be seen by Trinity Health, but the cost is based on
income — at Church Health, uninsured patients pay $40 to access its walk-in clinic. Trinity won't bill for insurance, but patients with a health insurance deductible of $5,000 to $10,000 that need to be seen are considered underserved, Remak said.
“This is basic health care,” she said. “We should all have basic health care. This is one way of trying to provide that.”
Two local church pastors, Brown Missionary Baptist Church's the Rev. Bartholomew Orr and Life Fellowship Church's the Rev. Patrick Conrad, wanted to address their community's health care needs and met with the faith-based Church Health to find out how that could be done, Remak said.
The two churches helped create Trinity Health Center Inc., which tasked Remak with leading the new Church Health-modeled clinic. Remak has a background in nursing and founded the nonprofit Arc Northwest Mississippi, which serves those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Aiding Remak as she juggles all the different pieces of launching a clinic is Empowering Church Health Outreach (ECHO), a separate nonprofit run by Church Health. ECHO has been there since the conversation's beginning stages, according to Langston, as Desoto was a high-interest community for nearby Church Health.
ECHO provides a road map to those interested in starting or growing a clinic using the Church Health model, Langston said. Its consultants determine the need for a charitable clinic, resources and organizations the clinic can access in the community and the clinic's
“champion” — someone willing to take on a leadership role.
“There's so many things, like how to budget or how to approach things, where the sources are that I need,” Remak said of ECHO'S guidance.
Finding faith communities and medical volunteers to help the clinic, along with the building it will occupy, are other priorities.
ECHO consultants have been involved in the launch of about 70 clinics using the Church Health model, with the road map varying depending on the clinic, Langston said.
“The populations that need to be served may vary, but what we look for is a way to engage people of faith across the country to come together to serve those without access,” she said.
Trinity Health Center plans to provide primary care, non-emergency diagnosis and treatment, prenatal and newborn care, physicals and other services. It will be much like an internist's office, Remak said.
The under-construction clinic is housed inside the Desoto County Dream Center, a hub for communityminded organizations, where a former Harley-davidson dealer used to be.
Remak estimates Trinity Health will have five full-time staff members and see about 20 patients every hour. The clinic will need medical volunteers to support its operation like Church Health does. Physicians could ideally see a couple of patients a month, she added.
“We'll see what the need is, we just have to play it by ear,” Remak said. “I have nurse practitioners signed up, but we might need to hire extra staff.”
Beyond volunteers, Remak wants a steady flow of donations to support Trinity Health, which won't receive any government funding. She said Trinity needs around $200,000 “just to finish construction as it is,” and is aiming for
NOTEWORTHY
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Remak hopes to raise enough awareness to fund the buildout campaign of Trinity Health, so the clinic can achieve its April opening goal.
“When they come and see what we're doing, I think we'll get commitments,” she said. “We already have a $65,000 buildout from Life Fellowship — that will be granted. Most of what you see here is part of those funds. We are going to have other commitments, but we don't know what those dollars are.”
Partnerships with major regional health care players like Baptist Memorial Health Care and Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare would go a long way, Remak said. Baptist Memorial Hospital-desoto is less than two miles from Trinity Health Center.
“People have to buy in,” Langston said. “The next real challenge is giving everybody the confidence that they can fundraise and get the resources to make this work.”
Langston said she hopes Church Health can take aspiring clinic leaders on a quick drive to Trinity to “show them what's possible” as it grows. In the long term, Remak wants to establish satellite offices.
“Desoto has always been a good, tight-knit community,” Remak said. “We've seen that with the tornado recently. This community comes together in times of need. There's no doubt we will finish this out.”
Max Garland covers Fedex, logistics and health care for The Commercial Appeal. Reach him at max.garland@commercialappeal.com or 901529-2651 and on Twitter @Max Garlandtypes. calls for service. In addition to 13 MAS officers attending the training, it was also attended by field supervisor Glenn Andrews, veterinary medical director Mary Manspeaker and director Alexis Pugh.the NALCIS Level I's curriculum includes training on animal law, constitutional law, basic nutrition and basic anatomy.
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