We Can Help: Church Health Center

We Can Help is a feature here at Bird on a Wire where we spotlight a community organization and tell you how you can help.

 

Jeff Hulett, seen above playing drums, started working at the Church Health Center in 2007 as a communications intern and then was hired on full-time in the spring of 2008. His title is communications coordinator and he is in charge of getting the word out about all things Church Health Center. Anything from writing to editing to going on television. If it's related to communications, he does it. He's also one of the organizers of Rock for Love, one of the Center's largest fundraisers. He shared some great information with us and gave us some ideas for helping out.

Since 1987 the Church Health Center has been the health care home to more than 55,000 patients of record. They also log more than 120,000 member visits to Church Health Center Wellness, their 80,000 square-foot comprehensive wellness center. They believe healthcare is more than just prescribing pills. They are in the business of helping people reach their highest level of wellness.

The Church Health Center is the largest faith-based healthcare organization of its type in the country serving uninsured working people and their families. They are a national model others are following. There are more than 25 clinics across the country that have been founded on their model.

Fees at the clinic are charged on a sliding scale based on income. Average visit costs $25. The Center doesn’t rely on government funding and has a $16 million annual budget. Medical services include primary care, dental care, eye-care, counseling, social work and physical therapy. Patients have continuity of care and can be hospitalized. The Center also has a walk-in clinic for those sick today with no health insurance.

The MEMPHIS Plan, the Center’s employer-sponsored plan for small business, covers 3,100 workers and 1,300 of their dependents. More than 1,300 area businesses participate. The plan brings in about $2 million of annual revenue to the Center, which is reinvested in our wellness programming.

The Center’s Faith Community Outreach staff has trained more than 1,000 congregational health promoters to serve as lay health advisers in congregations.

The Church Health Center does not proselytize. They draw support from a broad base of religious groups and the community at large. 

They are currently celebrating their 25th anniversary and have a Christmas card fundraiser.

Church Health Center Christmas cards can be sent in honor or memory of loved ones, friends, clients or co-workers. Those honored will receive a personalized, hand-inscribed card acknowledging the gift. Christmas cards recognizing a memorial gift will be sent to the person specified by the donor. A tax-deductible minimum gift of $10 per honoree is suggested.

To request a Christmas card packet, send an email to info@churchhealthcenter.org or call (901) 272-7170. 

 

For more information, please visit ChurchHealthCenter.org.

Want to tell us about how we can help your organization? Email sgreenberg@mlgw.org.