“Two years ago, they said I died,” Barbara Huntley said with a sigh, looking frustrated but very much alive. Her brush with death had nothing to do with health; it was the result of a mix-up with the federal government.
“Someone with my name died, but it wasn’t me. I keep telling them it’s not me who’s dead,” Huntley said with a shrug. The red tape hassle led the 82-year-old Toledoan to seek free medical help at a clinic that is open every Thursday night at CedarCreek Church’s South Toledo campus. Huntley’s doctor suggested she go to the clinic because the exams, lab work and prescriptions are all free.
“I think it’s excellent. I just wish my doctor had told me about it sooner,” she said. What kind of medical concerns led her to visit the clinic? “I’m old!” Huntley said with a laugh.
The health care is provided by the University of Toledo’s Community Care Clinic, involving several physicians and more than 200 health care students from UT’s medical, nursing, physician’s assistant and pharmacy schools.
Dr. Richard Paat, a Perrysburg internist, founded the clinic in 2012 in Perrysburg Heights. The clinic moved to CedarCreek’s South Toledo campus, at 2150 S. Byrne Road, on March 28. Anyone who walks in between 6 and 8 p.m. will be treated on a firstcome, first-served basis.
People start lining up around 4:30 p.m. and the last patients — and volunteers — leave between midnight and 1 a.m., according to Steve Whitlow, a CedarCreek member who helps coordinate the clinic. Coinciding with the health clinic, CedarCreek recently began serving free community meals during the same time slot, feeding about 100 people per week. It’s separate from the health clinic and the meals are free to anyone who comes in.
Chef John Kusner, 30, said he learned his trade at the Toledo Country Club and has also cooked for Cherry Street Mission Ministries. His volunteer work at CedarCreek utilizes his diverse background as a chef, he said.
“God gives us all something, he gives us all a purpose,” Kusner said. “God has prepared me to serve nice meals, with quantity for many people. I feel like it’s all coming together.”
Doctors and medical students involved in the health care clinic said they find it rewarding to give back to the community.
“Most of the people who come here don’t have insurance,” said Christopher Traner, 23, a second-year medical student from Strongsville, Ohio. “Many are homeless or come from halfway houses and shelters. But we treat anyone that wants to come. We don’t actually check [if they have insurance].”
Dr. Kevin Phelps, 52, a family practice physician, said clinic patients are “the neediest of people because they really haven’t had continuity in medical care.”
Many have routine health issues such as diabetes and hypertension, he said, “but it’s all untreated, undiagnosed or underdiagnosed. And they don’t have any resources, so it’s very challenging.”
Kishor Kapa, 23, a second-year medical student who helps run the clinic, said he feels an obligation to “fill the gap that exists in our health care system.”
“I can see the disparity in health care that we have today, and I really want to do what I can to help out,” he said. “I’m only a medical student so I can’t do too much, but I think it’s really important just being here and just offering the services that we can for people who need it.”
It’s particularly rewarding, he said, when he knows that patients appreciate his efforts.
“It’s always rewarding at the end of the night, even when we go till midnight or 1 a.m.,” Kapa said. “And especially when the patients come and thank us for being here because they had nowhere else to go.”
Douglas Roy, 52, visits the clinic often and is grateful for the free care.
“I work, but I can’t afford health insurance,” he said. “I have high blood pressure and I’ve been working real hard at losing weight, and there are some different issues along with that that are popping up.”
He said he couldn’t afford the prescription medications he gets for free at the clinic.
“If you as a person are willing to come out here and sit and wait — there’s some inconvenience to it — you can get legitimate health care,” Roy said. “This is something that is good for America. This is what we stand for, helping each other.”
David Yonke is the editor and community manager of Toledo Faith & Values (ToledoFAVS.com), a website that provides in-depth, nonsectarian news coverage of religion, faith and spirituality in the Toledo area.
