Looking to Restore Hope in the Neighborhood
Looking to restore hope in the neighborhood over these past 7 years, Paul Chandler, PA-C and Glenn Carlson MD along with the Governing Committee worked to open That Neighborhood Free Health Clinic (TNFHC). Their main goal was to improve and expand medical services to the residents of the Vistula Neighborhood, and surrounding community.
Over the summer of 2013, our restoration story began on the first floor of the YMCA building at 306 Bush St. This endeavor was accomplished in the remodeling of 5 rooms with the help of numerous volunteers and a generous donation from The Anderson’s. In God’s amazing timing and provision, ProMedica and the Toledo Hospital stepped forward with a donation of several thousand dollars worth of equipment, including exam tables and waiting room chairs to help us on our journey to restore hope to our community. On December 6 2013, we held our first open house raising 4500.00 dollars; and on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014, we finally opened the doors to our first patients, with a waiting room, two exam rooms, one nurse’s station, and a lab.
We have been serving the Vistula neighborhood providing quality health care that prior to January 2014 had not been available. At first one or two patients were seen per night and now we see between 10 and 12 patients every night. We have had a total of over 3737 patients visits since we first opened our doors to the community. We documented 477 patient visits in 2014 and in 2019 had 893 patient visits, almost doubling the amount of visits to our clinic. In addition, we have created strategic partnerships with ProMedica, the Toledo Hospital, and The University of Toledo (UT). We continue to work on building partnerships with other organizations like Toledo Public Schools (TPS), 1Voice matters, One Village and others. Because of God’s grace and excellent financial management from the Board of Directors.
Over the past 7 years we have expanded the clinic from two exam rooms to 4 exam rooms. Through generous donations, we have expanded our lab capabilities and obtained CLIA waived lab equipment to complete Basic Metabolic Panels (BMP), Liver Profiles, Hemoglobin A1C, Lipid Panels, hemoglobin and hematocrit all in house. We are working to obtain affordable radiology capabilities with local healthcare organizations. Diabetes is an ongoing national epidemic and it is no different in our neighborhood. We have obtained the services of Dr. Aparna Brown to see our diabetic patients once a month. The need for classes to teach our diabetic patients about their disease and how to care for their nutrition has become clear and we are working to address this need. We have partnered with the UT Physician Assistant Program to have physician assistant students working and learning along side our established physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners. This will help to enhance their education and to serve our patients.
We look forward to continuing to provide free quality care to our neighbors and patients, and for improving the scope of care we are able to provide in the future. Any suggestions for improvement or concerns are encouraged. You can always contact us at clinic@tnfhc.org. In addition if you are looking for a way to help RESTORE HOPE and make a difference then we invite you to volunteer at the clinic. We have many opportunities for you to volunteer whether you are a medical professional or without a medical background, we have a place for YOU!