clinic different
Having majored in marketing in college, I am fond of a good brand as it can highlight the
fundamental values and essence of an organization. It is one of the reasons I was drawn to the tagline for Galveston Central Church, “Church Different,” reminiscent of Apple’s infamous “Think Different” marketing campaign. When thinking of a church as a place of community gathering, I view church as a verb to mean to love and serve everyone, to create a space where people feel safe and supported by those around them. This is what Galveston Central Church, and by extension, Grace Clinic, strives to do. Every other week, I am privileged to be a small part of the magic that happens at Grace Clinic, though to call it magic does not fully capture the tireless commitment and advocacy by clinic staff and leaders to connect our most vulnerable neighbors to the vital care they need. But even when it is challenging, this work feels and is magical. I was reminded of this today morning while helping Ms. Shellie Wolf and Ms. Amber Evans as part of the social work team at Grace Clinic.
“Mr. M,” a gentleman in his 60s, was the third patient we saw in the morning at clinic for a social work consult. When I first greeted him in the waiting room, I saw he had a white cane, recently given to him by the clinic to help him navigate his surroundings. Mr. M has a history of worsening bilateral cataracts and was finally able to be seen by ophthalmology just the day before. At the appointment, he was deemed a surgical candidate and scheduled for a phacoemulsification with lens replacement surgery the following week. From a provider standpoint, often times when a patient is scheduled for an appointment, there is little time spent addressing all the contextual factors that govern if and how they show up to the appointment, including their housing situation, financial status, and social support. Yet, for Mr. M, who is currently unhoused, visually impaired, and receives a small monthly income from Social Security, these were the issues that mattered most. To prevent delays in his surgery and the risk of further vision deterioration, he needed to complete an urgent financial assistance packet with supportive documents through UTMB to ensure appropriate coverage. He was also prescribed three different types of ophthalmic medications to take prior to the surgery, none of which he could currently afford. Moreover, there were concerns regarding transportation, not only to and
from the surgery, but also for the required follow-up appointments, and the need for a respite bed to facilitate a safe post-operative recovery.
Over the next hour, I witnessed the ways in which Ms. Wolf and Ms. Evans worked together to identify solutions to each barrier to care, leveraging their deeply rooted networks within the Galveston community to address all that Mr. M needed before he could enter the operating room as a patient next week. We helped Mr. M organize his documents as well as complete and notarize the financial paperwork, which he signed using a magnifying glass to see the text.
Emails were sent and calls were made to St. Vincent’s House and Salvation Army to arrange for rides and request a bed. Mr. M’s providers at Grace Clinic that day were also exploring avenues with the local pharmacy to obtain his medications at no or reduced cost. This complex coordination of care among social work, non-profits, and the medical team reflected the power and importance of interprofessional collaboration. It also reinforced how trust and relationship-building lay at the heart of community work; it was in part due to the connections established by Ms. Wolf and Ms. Evans through longitudinal, sustained efforts that we were able to swiftly and effectively plan for Mr. M’s pre- and post-surgical care by the time he left Central Church that morning.
When looking at UTMB’s OR status board, there are typically around a dozen cataract surgeries scheduled for a single day. It is a fairly routine surgical procedure that can take less than 30 minutes to complete. Yet, for Mr. M, this is a surgery that has the potential to be life-altering, providing him with the hope for improved functionality, mobility, and safety. He now has the opportunity to receive and attend the surgery thanks to the dedication of his team at Grace Clinic and Central Church, and that is truly magical.
fundamental values and essence of an organization. It is one of the reasons I was drawn to the tagline for Galveston Central Church, “Church Different,” reminiscent of Apple’s infamous “Think Different” marketing campaign. When thinking of a church as a place of community gathering, I view church as a verb to mean to love and serve everyone, to create a space where people feel safe and supported by those around them. This is what Galveston Central Church, and by extension, Grace Clinic, strives to do. Every other week, I am privileged to be a small part of the magic that happens at Grace Clinic, though to call it magic does not fully capture the tireless commitment and advocacy by clinic staff and leaders to connect our most vulnerable neighbors to the vital care they need. But even when it is challenging, this work feels and is magical. I was reminded of this today morning while helping Ms. Shellie Wolf and Ms. Amber Evans as part of the social work team at Grace Clinic.
“Mr. M,” a gentleman in his 60s, was the third patient we saw in the morning at clinic for a social work consult. When I first greeted him in the waiting room, I saw he had a white cane, recently given to him by the clinic to help him navigate his surroundings. Mr. M has a history of worsening bilateral cataracts and was finally able to be seen by ophthalmology just the day before. At the appointment, he was deemed a surgical candidate and scheduled for a phacoemulsification with lens replacement surgery the following week. From a provider standpoint, often times when a patient is scheduled for an appointment, there is little time spent addressing all the contextual factors that govern if and how they show up to the appointment, including their housing situation, financial status, and social support. Yet, for Mr. M, who is currently unhoused, visually impaired, and receives a small monthly income from Social Security, these were the issues that mattered most. To prevent delays in his surgery and the risk of further vision deterioration, he needed to complete an urgent financial assistance packet with supportive documents through UTMB to ensure appropriate coverage. He was also prescribed three different types of ophthalmic medications to take prior to the surgery, none of which he could currently afford. Moreover, there were concerns regarding transportation, not only to and
from the surgery, but also for the required follow-up appointments, and the need for a respite bed to facilitate a safe post-operative recovery.
Over the next hour, I witnessed the ways in which Ms. Wolf and Ms. Evans worked together to identify solutions to each barrier to care, leveraging their deeply rooted networks within the Galveston community to address all that Mr. M needed before he could enter the operating room as a patient next week. We helped Mr. M organize his documents as well as complete and notarize the financial paperwork, which he signed using a magnifying glass to see the text.
Emails were sent and calls were made to St. Vincent’s House and Salvation Army to arrange for rides and request a bed. Mr. M’s providers at Grace Clinic that day were also exploring avenues with the local pharmacy to obtain his medications at no or reduced cost. This complex coordination of care among social work, non-profits, and the medical team reflected the power and importance of interprofessional collaboration. It also reinforced how trust and relationship-building lay at the heart of community work; it was in part due to the connections established by Ms. Wolf and Ms. Evans through longitudinal, sustained efforts that we were able to swiftly and effectively plan for Mr. M’s pre- and post-surgical care by the time he left Central Church that morning.
When looking at UTMB’s OR status board, there are typically around a dozen cataract surgeries scheduled for a single day. It is a fairly routine surgical procedure that can take less than 30 minutes to complete. Yet, for Mr. M, this is a surgery that has the potential to be life-altering, providing him with the hope for improved functionality, mobility, and safety. He now has the opportunity to receive and attend the surgery thanks to the dedication of his team at Grace Clinic and Central Church, and that is truly magical.
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