The City Wire Special Report: A preacher crusades for a medical clinic

Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of stories on mental illness and healthcare issues. Throughout 2010 The City Wire will attempt to post at least one story a month on this often hidden affliction.

Previous articles in the series
• Mental illness hits one in five persons
• Robert’s colors and Asperger’s Syndrome
• Tonya’s world

story by Marla Cantrell
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Ronnie Gilmore, pastor of Butterfield Assembly of God Church in Van Buren, doesn’t believe the $940 billion health care reform law is the answer to America’s medical problems.

“I don’t think it will work,” Gilmore said. “I haven’t seen very many things work when it gets so political. I’m very skeptical; however, whatever our lawmakers do, according to the word of God, I’ve got to support it and pray for them.”

If $940 billion won’t fix what’s broken, what will?

“I don’t think there is an answer to our problem, because it’s gotten so big, besides helping one another,” Gilmore said.

He means it. Gilmore now has a board of 10 people in place, including Dr. Peyton Miller and Dr. Bruce Crabtree, to help organize a community health clinic for low-income and no-income patients.

It’s something he’s been thinking about for a year and a half. That’s when the economy started affecting his congregation of 800. A good number of those members lost jobs and medical insurance. Gilmore said on any given week, 10 to 15 families, from inside and outside the church, stop by Butterfield asking for food, clothing or money to pay utility bills.

The need was personified one night when he was visiting a local hospital he saw a young mother whose baby was refused treatment. Gilmore doesn’t know the particulars and doesn’t fault the hospital.

“I went back to my truck, she was sitting next to me, still in her car, rocking her baby,” Gilmore said. “They were both crying and it broke my heart.  I drove off,” Gilmore stopped, tears trailing down his face. “I said, ‘Lord, we’ve got to do something, even if it’s just to pray with that individual.’ I really felt convicted that I didn’t do that.”

Fifteen years ago, Gilmore said he wouldn’t have hesitated. But it’s different now, a man in a parking lot doesn’t approach a younger woman in distress without thinking of the consequences.

After that night, Gilmore started formulating a plan. Drs. Joan and Peyton Miller were closing down Crawford Kid’s Care and offered to give Gilmore their medical equipment, including exam tables, the phone system, and EKG machine and x-ray equipment.

And recently, a local business owner has offered to give a building to the group.  Gilmore and the board plans to tour the site in the next few days.

The Van Buren pastor is in the process of developing a non-profit organization. He said there are 100 people, from dentists, to doctors, to those in community service groups, who have expressed an interest to help. It’s what Gilmore hoped would happen.

“We don’t want The Crawford County Medical Clinic to be a Butterfield thing,” Gilmore said.  “We want it to be a community effort.”

The board of 10 has split into three groups to visit other non-profit medical clinics in Fort Smith, Eureka Springs and Russellville. They’ve brought back ideas from how to determine eligibility to how to work with local hospitals. The group plans to adopt many of the same guidelines to operate the Crawford County clinic; however, the details, such as how much, if anything, patients will pay, has not been determined. The group’s next meeting is April 26. At that time, they’ll likely hire an attorney to establish their non-profit status, make further plans on the donated building and discuss when to open the meetings to the public.

“We’ve had people from every walk of life, even barbers and beauticians, who want to help,” Gilmore said. “We want to hear what everyone has to say.”

The clinic will offer preventative medical care and dentistry, as well as counseling both for adults and children. Gilmore said the clinic will also address the spiritual needs of the patients. He expects to see the very poor, such as those who are homeless, but he also believes the clinic will help those who have recently lost health insurance, either because of job loss or because the premiums have gotten too high to pay.

As for how much the clinic will cost, Gilmore is still unsure. There are people who want to donate, but he is holding off until the non-profit is in place. And he hasn’t yet met with city and local government. He said that will happen in the near future.

There are a lot of loose ends, but none of that bothers the Van Buren pastor. He has faith, in God, in his church, and in his community.

“I’ve lived in Crawford County all my life and I’ve lived in two houses — one I was raised in and one I was married in — so I know Crawford County as good as anybody,” Gilmore said. “And Crawford County people have the biggest heart of anybody. When they see a need in our community, they meet it. And I’ve never seen a bigger need, in all my years in the ministry, as this one.”