Doctor reclaims calling to heal ?whole person’
|
A UMNS photo by Kathy Gilbert Nurse Kimberly Tuggle unpacks supplies donated to the Salvus Center.
|
Nurse
Kimberly Tuggle unpacks supplies donated to the Salvus Center. The
faith-based health clinic in Sumner County, Tenn., founded by United
Methodist Dr. Ted Hill, serves working people who have no health
insurance coverage. The clinic opened March 20 and operates just like
any other doctor's office, but patients only pay a small portion of the
fees they would normally be charged. Support for the center has come
from many sources, including area hospitals, foundations, grants and
organizations such as United Way and a cross section of the faith
community. A UMNS photo by Kathy Gilbert. Photo #06456. Accompanies UMNS
story #259. 5/3/06 |
May 3, 2006
By Kathy L. Gilbert*
GALLATIN, Tenn. (UMNS) — The Salvus Center looks like most doctor offices:
magazines on coffee tables, paper sheets on examining beds, medical equipment
tucked in corners and a well-stocked medical supply room.
But a closer look reveals things you don’t usually see — crosses
in the treatment rooms and Bibles in the lobby.
In a clinic full of Christian symbols, Dr. Ted
Hill is a United Methodist physician who has “reclaimed his call from God” and
opened a faith-based health clinic in Sumner County for working people who
have no health insurance
coverage.
The clinic operates just like any other doctor’s
office, but patients only pay a portion of the fees they would normally be
charged.
According to some of the latest statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, in
2005 the poverty level was $10,160 for a single adult under 65 years old and
$20,144 for a four-person household. More than half of the U.S. population
lives below 200 percent of the poverty level.
Fees at the Salvus Center range from $5 to $30,
depending on a person’s
income. For people who are 200 percent or more below the poverty level, prescription
drugs are issued on a sliding scale from $1 (generic) to $3. For those 100
percent below the poverty level, drugs are $5 (generic) to $10.
Salvation and healing
“Salvus” is Greek for “salvation” and “healing.” The
center has seen more than 130 patients since opening March 20. Hill is hoping
word of mouth will draw more people who need the services. “We have to
develop some trust in the community,” he says.
|
A UMNS photo by Kathy Gilbert The faith-based Salvus Center, founded by United Methodist Dr. Ted Hill, serves working people who have no health insurance.
|
The
faith-based Salvus Center in Sumner County, Tenn., serves working
people who have no health insurance. The clinic, founded by United
Methodist Dr. Ted Hill, opened March 20 and operates just like any other
doctor's office, but patients only pay a small portion of the fees they
would normally be charged. Support for the center has come from many
sources, including area hospitals, foundations, grants and organizations
such as United Way and a cross section of the faith community. A UMNS
photo by Kathy Gilbert. Photo #06457. Accompanies UMNS story #259.
5/3/06 |
Patients who come through the doors are from 25
to 55, which is typical for clinics like the Salvus Center, he says. The
younger
patients are people who
no longer qualify for their parents’ insurance plans and aren’t
making enough money to afford health coverage.
Many middle-aged people work for companies that
don’t offer insurance
and can’t afford to buy coverage, he says. Others are “uninsurable” or
have been kicked out of insurance plans.
“We do see some immigrants, and as the trust factor builds, we hope
to see more,” he says.
“There are 1,800 clinics in the United States that do this kind of work,” Hill
says. The Salvus Center is modeled on the Church Health Center in Memphis,
which has been in operation for 17 years, sees 40,000 patients a year and has
an annual budget of $10 million.
“The point is it can be done if you do it right,” he says. “We
have been working very hard to do it right.”
Acts of mercy
Before becoming medical director for the Salvus
Center, Hill had a private practice in Gallatin for 26 years. He made a lot
of contacts
over the years
and is “calling in the favors now,” he says.
“I don’t work for free,” he says, smiling. “I
do get a salary for working here, but it is a significant reduction from
what I had
before.”
After attending the Academy for Spiritual Formation
sponsored by the United Methodist Upper Room, Hill says he began to understand
that
a Christians’ role
involves acts of mercy in the world.
“I began to see at the end of the day my efforts were translated into
money,” he says. “There is nothing wrong with making a living,
but when you realize your life speaks, the question was, ?What is my
life saying? What is my witness?’ And the witness was I was making a
good living — more than I needed — and I began to look at other
avenues to reclaim my calling, which is to minister to people in a whole way.”
?Amazing and mysterious ways’
Hill began talking about issues of health care
and the number of people “who
fall through the cracks” with other colleagues in the medical and faith
communities.
Then, about a year ago, he approached the chief
executive of a local hospital with the question: “If the Lord opened the doors and I decided to do
this in Gallatin, would the hospital be supportive?” As it happened,
the executive was having similar conversations with others in the community
and had planned a meeting for the next day. All he lacked was the name of a
doctor who would be willing to provide medical care.
“I showed up the day before the meeting,” Hill says. “I
felt like it was providential. God has really opened doors ever since then
in amazing and mysterious ways.”
In June, Hill is hoping to be commissioned as
an ordained deacon in the United Methodist Church during the Tennessee Annual
Conference. “I have been
working on a seminary degree in my spare time for the last few years,” he
says.
“Part of what I want to do as a deacon is to say to the church we need
to reclaim the issues of healing within the church,” he says. When his
father started his ministry 60 years ago, ministers were the healthiest part
of the population, he says. “Now they are the sickest.”
The issues of clergy health and how Christians take care of themselves are
issues of healing, he says.
“
I feel like Jesus’ ministry was not only teaching and preaching but
it was healing, and healing was just as important as the other two,” he
says. “I think that from the scientific revolution on, we have given
that over to other disciplines. Healing really started in the church.”
Enough for everyone
Hill is passionate about caring for those in need.
“There is enough for everybody in the world,” he says. “The
problem is some of us have more than we need and some of us are starving. There
is an epidemic of obesity in the United States and an epidemic of starvation
in the rest of the world. Something is not right here.”
Support for the center has come from many sources, including area hospitals,
foundations, grants and organizations such as United Way.
“Because I am a deacon and a church person, I have gone to many different
faith groups,” Hill says. “We have been supported by a cross section
of the faith community. We really are very ecumenically supported, and we are
very grateful for that.”
Faith groups understand the issue of calling, mission and ministry, he says.
“We are not about any particular faith persuasion,” he says. “We
have Christian symbols and we talk about our faith, but we are not exclusive
in handing out a cup of water to anyone in need.”
*Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville,
Tenn.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.
Audio Interview with Dr. Ted Hill |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|