Free clinic notes marked increase in business

Eileen Martin first came to the Greater Hickory Cooperative Christian Ministry's free clinic 10 years ago.
The 58-year-old Hickory resident had been laid off from her furniture factory job, lost her insurance and couldn't afford her medications.

In October she was laid off a second time and again returned to CCM for help.

The volunteer doctors who work at the clinic are treating her for high blood pressure, cholesterol and emphysema, she said.

It would be impossible for the clinic to provide free medical treatment for all of its clients if not for the 100 volunteer health-care providers who donate their time and expertise, said Leann Shull, director of Health Care Services.

The weak economy has brought more patients into the clinic and created the need for more volunteers from the medical community she said.

"You can never have too many volunteers," Shull said.

Martin said she's recommended CCM to some of her neighbors who are also out of work and without health care, but they haven't come to the clinic. She thinks it may be a matter of pride.

"When it comes to your health and having food to eat, you have to set your pride aside," she said. "I don't know what I would have done if it hadn't been for them."

Helping others

Dr. Douglas E. Trent is one of CCM's 35 volunteer physicians. He has volunteered at the clinic for a year.

He enjoys helping people and counseling them on how to improve their lives without relying on medications, he said while seeing a patient Thursday.

He was treating Sherry Bayles for knee pain. She said she had just begun an exercise regimen and wanted to make sure she didn't do any permanent damage as she worked to get in shape.

The 38-year-old Hickory woman started coming to the clinic for medical care after her hours were cut at the hotel where she works.

Trent gave her some of advice and encouragement and told her she could pick up her medications in the pharmacy on her way out of the clinic.

CCM has its own in-house pharmacy and one of Linda Gensheimer's main responsibilities is making sure it's stocked with drugs.

Last year, CCM gave $2.3 million worth of medications to patients for free, Gensheimer said. Those medicines came from two sources. They were purchased with donor money or the drug companies donated them, she said.

Pharmaceutical company donations require statements reporting the patient's income, Gensheimer said, and since February there has been a sharp spike in the number of patients on unemployment.

"We've had a huge impact from the economy," she said. "People complain about the drug companies but people don't realize that they are donating medicines for free to the needy."

CCM's pharmacy stocks a wide range of medications, but Gensheimer said drugs that control COPD, diabetes and high blood pressure are among the most frequently prescribed.

A vital need

CCM Executive Director Roger Baker says the free clinic is serving a vital need for medical access for Catawba County residents.

"There are people who wouldn't be alive without our services," he said.

The number of people requesting CCM's services has had a direct correlation to the floundering economy.

The number of newly laid-off workers and people who can't find a job who are coming to CCM for treatment rose dramatically around this time last year and ballooned in January and February, Baker said.

The number of people who are coming to CCM for help has jumped by 40 percent compared to this time last year.

"Business is good, unfortunately," Baker said.

He said that while the demand for services has spiked, the average donor is giving less, but he is confident CCM will persevere through hard times.

Much of CCM's support comes from churches, and Baker said he is working to expand the donor base.

"We will turn over every rock to find the resources we need to serve this community," he said.