New Anne Green free clinic ready to help patients

The Anne Green Free Clinic, one of many services offered through Lumpkin County’s Community Helping Place, played host to a dedication ceremony and open house Sunday, Jan. 9. The 3,600-square-foot modular building hosted over a hundred supporters who came to tour the building and attend the dedication.
“Despite the cold rain, the feeling inside the building was warm and joyful,” said CHP Executive Director Melissa Line. “Scriptures and prayers were shared with the guests, the family of Anne Green was honored and members of the community thanked for their contributions.”
The clinic is named in honor of Anne Green, who first brought up the idea of a free clinic to CHP while serving on the board of directors. Former clinic director and current Director of Development and Operations Paula Payne was the driving force in getting the clinic up and running, but, she said, she could not have done it without Green’s help.
“She put me in touch with the right people. She was so respected in the community people were willing to help out. She was critical to getting the clinic going,” she said.
Green was also responsible for starting one of the clinic’s most popular fundraisers, the annual Tomato Sandwich Supper. She, along with Joyce Westmoreland, continued to head up the fundraiser for the next decade-plus, until COVID hit in 2020.

CLINIC HISTORY

The clinic started out in one room in the basement of what is now Anderson Underwood Funeral Home. From there it moved to a small house on Camp Glisson Road, across the street from what was CHP’s food pantry, thrift store and headquarters.
It didn’t take long for the clinic to outgrow the small house. A search for larger quarters was fruitless. When CHP acquired the Rock House property and moved its thrift store, food pantry and office there, it became a goal to “centralize all operations to the same place in the community,” Line said. “We discovered that many of our clients were forced to choose between visiting the clinic and the food pantry, and being able to have the clinic in a short walking distance from our main operations was foremost in our minds.”

THE FUNDS

The board decided to enter into a capital campaign. Green passed away in March 2021 before she could see the realization of that dream, but even in death Green continued to contribute to the clinic’s goal.
“Donations in honor of Mrs. Green made a huge dent in the financial goals for the project,” Line said.
Many people, churches and organizations contributed to the cause, including its first donors, Dr. Donna and Bryan Whitfield. Payne and Line searched for foundations that would help with the project, and in December 2020 received a $200,000 grant toward the project to add to the money already set aside.
“With this large amount of funding in place, CHP created a budget and timeline for the project, with plans to construct a modular clinic building to occupy newly acquired land on Rock House Road, right behind the main campus of CHP,” Line said.
In the spring of 2021 the community service organization received and additional $100,000 from an Atlanta-based private foundation. A campaign to have individuals name the rooms of the new clinic generated another large source of revenue—about $70,000—from community members.
“The goal was to have the clinic ready by January 2022, and despite some weather related setbacks, rising construction costs and a few other bumps in the road, the building for the new clinic was bought and paid for as the land was being cleared,” Line said. “And we met our goal. I’m amazed that we did this—and during a pandemic, and with almost all cash. At the end of 2021 we were less than $50,000 short of our goal. It’s a miracle.”

THREE AMIGOS

It could not have been accomplished without so much help from the community, Line said, especially three men she calls “the three amigos,” David Luke, Joe Dickman and Jim Fambrough.
Fambrough was the initial site engineer. It was his drawings that made it possible to obtain grants from the foundations who donated to the project.
“We had to have those drawings as part of the application process,” Line said. “We couldn’t have done it without Jim’s help.”
Joe Dickman provided the grading and hauling at a reduced cost, and within the timeline to meet the goal.
That in itself was a miracle, Line said. She had been unsuccessful in obtaining a grading contractor who could go to work right away.
“They were all booked up for six months,” she said.
By chance, on the way to pick up crab rangoon to celebrate CHP’s Debbie Holloway’s birthday she saw a truck with “Joe Dickman Grading and Hauling on the back—with a lady behind the wheel. Melissa asked the lady if she had a grading company.
“I told her it was my husband’s business, and that he was trying to retire and only working part time,” said Joe’s wife, Shirley. “It was just one of those things that came together.”
The next day, Line said, Dickman showed up at CHP’s office.
“He started work right away,” said Luke, who acted as the project’s liaison between CHP and the architect and contractors. “He was hired one day, had equipment on site the next day and started moving dirt the day after that. When Joe came on board, that’s when things began to move.”
“It was a great place to work. It was close to the house, and I needed something to do anyway,” Joe said. “I never knew there was such a thing as a free clinic in the county. It’s a great thing, and it was delightful to work there. I’ll be making a donation from now on.”
Luke is the third member of the amigos.
“He was our miracle man,” Line said. “Paula and I decided not to hire a general contractor. We couldn’t afford it. So we asked David to be our liaison. He walked us through every door. He knew who to call whatever came up and helped us through every obstacle we faced.”
Like Joe, Luke said he enjoyed his role after retiring from his second career as part of the development team for an architectural firm specializing in school development. He retired as superintendent of schools in Lumpkin County before taking on that job, and was an integral part of design on he county’s high school.
“I needed something to do, and it was a lot of fun,” he said. “It’s wonderful to be able to give back to the community. It’s what the Lord wants us to do. It was an honor to be involved with the project, especially when you look at the work the clinic does.”

MOVING IN

The construction wasn’t the only part of the process, however. Moving was also a big effort.
“It takes a community to make our community clinic happen. We are so blessed and thankful for the hours upon hours of work by the Sunrise Rotary, the High school students, the Lumpkin County wrestling team, the ladies from many Bible study classes, and so many more,” Director of Development and Operations Paula Payne said.
The move from old to new clinic was complete prior to all interior work by the construction crew, however, causing a bit of a snag for Payne and new clinic director Erin Whidby Cook to overcome.
“We moved from the old building to the new building because we had to be out of the [Camp Glisson Road] house by the end of December. Then we had to borrow the boys from the wrestling team to move everything out of the new clinic so they could [industrial] clean the floors,” she said.
Construction workers still working on the final touches had tracked a large quantity of mud throughout the building.
She and Payne “borrowed” their husbands, Matt and Dave, to move everything back in.

UP AND RUNNING

The clinic received its temporary certificate of occupancy several days prior to the dedication. But before that event could take place it was already seeing patients. The day after receiving the certificate of occupancy there were about 15 patients in all, seven new to the clinic, and three new volunteers.
“It was bumpy, there were hiccups,” Cook said, “…I’m so happy and so excited that everything is finally happening.”
The best part, she said, was getting to work with Payne.
“[She can] make a squirrel with ADHD look like they’re running in slow motion. I am amazed at what that tiny head holds, I’m just afraid I’ll never be able to keep up,” she said.
The new facility more than doubles the space the clinic occupied at the Camp Glisson Road facility. It now has five exam rooms and a dental room, a waiting room and offices, and a fully functioning lab where urine samples can be taken and blood drawn and tested for sugar. Other blood work is sent to LabCorp.
There is also a room for mental health counselor Brad Blazek, an education room, and the reception area can accommodate more volunteers.
This, Payne said, is a big part of carrying on Green’s mission of service.
The Anne Green Free Clinic offers primary care; a full set of labs, including testing for hepatitis C; a hepatitis treatment program; a mental health program that sees patients both in person and through Telehealth; and transportation services to take patients to and from the clinic, as well as to specialty care.
“The goal for the clinic was to pay for this project in cash so that we will no longer pay rent or a mortgage payment, and all operational funds raised for the clinic can go directly to our clients. We are only short about $40,000 to completely pay off this project in full. To date, nearly $500,000 has been raised,” Line said. “To God be the glory!”

To learn more about CHP and the Anne Green Free Clinic, make a donation or volunteer, visit CHP’s website at communityhelpingplace.org.