CHRIST COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICES

Christ Community Health Services - serving the underserved…

Ok I admit it I’m a cable news junkie. I drive my wife and daughters crazy most nights as I flip from O’Rielly to Olberman to King to Hannity to Maddow and so on. Usually very early on in my quest to hear what everybody has to say about everything I am banished to the back so my family can get their fix of whatever “reality” show the networks are serving up that night. Through my decades of watching these programs I have seen 1000’s of “experts” give their opinions on every subject under the sun. One thing struck me recently though, of all the topics these shows cover there is one that never goes away and that never seems to change. It’s the seemingly endless health care debate. Everyone agrees there is a problem that needs fixing. Problem is that the debate on these shows is not really about fixing health care its about one side winning a political battle against the other. So as that battle continues to be fought on cable news I want us to try a novel approach. Let’s focus on health care providers that instead of arguing about health care they are actually doing something about it. One such organization is located right here in Memphis and its called Christ Community Health Services (CCHS). Christ Community has a rather simple but incredibly effective mission of seeking out the underserved and providing quality healthcare in the context of a distinctly Christian service.

Christ Community started as a dream of four young medical students at LSU back in the 1980’s. While the four were studying different aspects of medicine they shared the common vision of integrating their medical training with their desire to faithfully serve God by serving the medically underprivileged. Upon graduation they researched the south to find a location most appealing for fulfilling their vision. They settled on Memphis because of the incredible need they found here. With very little money they moved to Memphis and for two years struggled to make ends meet as they sold their dream to banks, churches and other organizations. From these meager beginnings Christ Community has grown into a thriving health care ministry with six clinics all located in the poorest sections of Memphis and a mobile clinic for the homeless. I recently sat down with Burt Waller the Executive Director of CCHS and as we discussed CCHS. I caught a glimpse of what true health care is supposed to be. You see every doctor, dentist and nurse that works at CCHS shares the same vision of the founding four. That’s why they work at CCHS for less than they could earn in the private sector. That’s also why many choose to live in the communities their clinics are located so they can not only care for their patients medical needs but also develop relationships with their families and with others who live in the community. As Waller enthusiastically told Christ Community’s story I couldn’t help but draw the contrast between CCHS and its caring compassionate approach to medicine with the cold heartless options the cable news programs blather on about endlessly. While Christ Community is unashamedly Christian in its mission there is no religious litmus test for its patients and it is very sensitive to not impose its views on others. Waller puts it this way “we are called to provide healthcare to whoever comes to us in a loving, compassionate Christ like way.” Maybe that’s why CCHS is the largest provider of healthcare to both the Muslim and Buddhist communities.

Waller told me that about 50% of Christ Community’s patients are on Tenncare, close to 40% are uninsured (that’s up from 30% just a year ago), and the other roughly 10% have private insurance. A vast majority of the uninsured pay the minimum amount of $25 but many just pay what they can. No one is turned away because of money. CCHS provides adult and pediatric primary care, obstetrics/gynecology, dentistry and pharmacy services. They have also expanded into several outreach areas that go above and beyond basic health care services. The outreach programs include education, family counseling, diet and exercise mentoring and abstinence education. They have found that patients that are well educated, from strong families and that are making good diet and lifestyle choices have less medical problems to begin with.

So next time you are watching another left versus right health care political war on cable news remember there are more than the two options of having a nameless faceless insurance company or a nameless faceless government bureaucrat making your health care decisions for you. There is another model these shows fail to mention. There is the caring compassionate faith based way.

To find out more about CCHS visit their website – www.christcommunityhealh.org