The concept for the Bethesda Health Clinic was originally envisioned by a physician working at the University Of Texas Health Center in 1999, who in turn shared her desire with Dr. Michael Massar, Pastor of Tyler’s First Baptist Church. Although the physician eventually moved from Tyler, Dr. Massar continued to think about the concept, sharing the idea with Church staff and members of the medical community. To further explore the viability of the idea, Rev. Patricia Mallory and Doctor Todd Raabe, both of First Baptist Church, visited a similar facility in Memphis, Tennessee to gather information. Convinced that the concept was sound and that it would deliver a vital service to the community, the First Baptist Church then made a commitment to lease an 11,341 square foot building to house the clinic. A community meeting was held with several hundred interested citizens in attendance, resulting in the formation of committees and a board. Dr. Todd Raabe was named as President, and plans for the creation of Bethesda Health Clinic began to evolve at a rapid pace. The daunting task at hand was to remodel an empty building and turn it into a state of the art health clinic.
In order to begin to serve the community as rapidly as possible, the board chose to remodel a 3,000 square foot area immediately to begin clinic operations in, while the remaining 8,000 feet was finished. On September 6th of 2003, the Bethesda Health Clinic opened its doors and treated the first of many grateful patients. In the first four months of operations, the clinic treated 372 patients. Publicity about the clinic generated calls from people wanting to volunteer their skills and donate furniture, lab equipment and furnishings of all sorts to create a first class environment for the patients and staff. Remodeling continued and the clinic expanded dramatically in size and capacity, with scores of volunteers and donations creating a critical mass that propelled the clinic forward on its mission. By the end of the year 2004, the clinic had already treated a total of almost 4,800 patients.
The remodeling of the building was finished in January of 2004 and the clinic is beginning to hit full stride as it continues to expand the list of services provided to patients. In just the first two months of 2005, the clinic served 1,275 patients, which places it on track to serve about 10,000 patients by the end of the year. Currently, 180 primary care physicians and specialists volunteer their services, including cardiology, gastrology, gynecology, podiatry, orthopedics, psychology, dentistry, physical therapy, ophthalmology, endocrinology, rheumatology, pulmonary, neurology, PM&R, EKG, diabetes, radiology, ultra sound and lab work specialties. Additionally, some 240 nurses contribute their time and services to provide care for the patient population and various local hospitals have generously agreed to provide certain laboratory tests along with some CT scans and MRIs on a rotating basis. The professional medical staff and volunteer professionals of the Bethesda Health Clinic are further supported by an amazing 750 community volunteers, persons from all walks of life who contribute their time and skills to help the clinic function on a daily basis by performing custodial, clerical, maintenance and interpretation services.
The astounding growth of the Bethesda Health Clinic can be attributed to careful planning and the generous support of the community in Smith County. Volunteers and donors are the lifeblood of the clinic, and Bethesda is fortunate to have such a dedicated community to support its mission of providing top quality health care to the working uninsured of Smith County. As we expand the scope of our services and the numbers of patients served, we look forward working with more of our neighbors, supporters and benefactors as we serve our fellow man.
