WWJDWTC: My Story: Part 2

Today was step one for me.

I went up to the clinic and met with Cyndi. She is he Community Relations Coordinator. She was very personable, knowledgeable and her passion for the mission of the clinic oozed through every pore in her body.

The mission is the following: the Viola Startzman Free Clinic serves, in an atmosphere of dignity and respect, lower income and uninsured residence of Wayne County.

She introduced me to a variety of people. They included some of the paid nursing staff, some of the paid nurses and clerical staff. I also had the opportunity to meet some of the board of directors and volunteers. While there, I saw Nancy. She is the Dental Clinic Coordinator for the clinic and a member of the church that I serve.

I have to admit that I did not know what I was going to walk into when I stepped into the doors of the clinic. I was walking into the "unknown". I was completely blown away by the jewel that we have in this community.

Here are some numbers on volunteers and the clinic. Medical volunteers volunteered over 1200 hours and support volunteers volunteered 3000 hours (the first 5 months). These individuals have given up their time to make this clinic work. The clinic has helped over 20,000 different patients.

I will begin volunteering next week. I am only going to be serving there for about 5 hours a month at the present time. I am going to be filing charts for their patients. I am looking forward to doing a very small part to help in the background so the clinic can run smoothly.

One of the great things to hear about and to see (from my perspective) that Dr. Startzman was a great physician and influencer in the community. Because of her work and dedication, the clinic is strong and doing great work. Her passion is so great that the clinic has retired professors doing janitorial work in the clinic.

The clinic continues to see more and more patients each month; so their need continues to grow. I received the Clinic Wish List and I will make sure that when we are at the store, we will buy some of the items so I can take it up to them when I volunteer next Tuesday. I will also be passing the list to individuals that I know.