TENNESSEE

Christ Community Health Services

Christ Community Health Services has focused on fulfilling the physical, spiritual and emotional needs of the poor, the uninsured and the homeless in Memphis since 1995. Through our strategically placed health care centers and outreach programs, we provide high-quality health care and other services to thousands of patients, caregivers, students and families each year. Our goal is to go where the need is greatest to provide quality services in the name of Jesus Christ.

History

Christ Community began as the ill-defined dream of four medical students at LSU Health Science Center in New Orleans. David Pepperman, Rick Donlon, Karen Miller and Steve Besh met through a Christian Medical Dental Association small group bible study as first year students in 1986. Over the next several years, they stumbled along with a vision of using their medical training to honor God by caring for the medically underprivileged.

In 1990, the four students graduated from medical school and went separate ways for residency training. During the next three years, despite being geographically separated, they remained connected to each other and committed to their shared dream. After investigating practice opportunities in New Orleans and other Southern locales, they attended a recruitment fair for underserved Tennessee communities held in Nashville. They learned that Memphis had the largest concentration of medically underserved communities in the state; several parts of the city suffered severe shortages of primary care physicians.

After completing residency training in 1993, the founding four doctors settled in Memphis and began sharing their vision with anyone who would listen. For the next two years, they struggled to make ends meet, making presentations to banks, churches, civic groups and other institutions.

Through faith, prayer and determination, they eventually secured a $200,000 grant from the Baptist Memorial Health Care Foundation and found a location to renovate in southwest Memphis on Third Street. With the help of construction companies who donated labor and supplies and banks who allowed them to secure loans, Christ Community opened its doors, and the first patient was served in September 1995.

Over the subsequent years, Christ Community has grown its scope of services to include dental clinics, full-service pharmacies, a mobile medical van for the homeless, HIV/AIDS care and a host of other outreach programs. In calendar year 2009, Christ Community will provide more than100,000 medical and dental clinic visits in five Memphis communities.

Mission

Christ Community Health Services will provide high-quality health care to the underserved in the context of distinctively Christian service. We recognize that Jesus Christ is the true healer of individuals and their communities and the source of our ability to serve.

Values

A disingenuous religious teacher once asked Jesus Christ what the most important of all God’s commandments was. Jesus answered with two from the ancient book of Deuteronomy,

Description
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself.”

These two commandments provide a vision for life and work, a vision that we aspire to every day. Christ Community exists, first and always, to demonstrate the worthiness and majesty of God. Disciples of Jesus can, by their stumbling obedience, show the world that God is glorious and deserves the best of our hearts, souls, strengths and minds. Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men that they see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven.” We don’t serve the needy to gain God’s approval or make a name for ourselves; we do it to help others see how great God is.

The second commandment, to love our neighbors as ourselves, further influences our work. One of the most pervasive themes throughout the Bible is God’s concern for the poor and oppressed. In our nation, the wealthiest in the world, there’s an undeniable divide between the rich and the poor. Those with resources can obtain a good education, secure housing and first-rate health care. Our neighbors without resources face a very different reality. Profound health disparities exist in the United States; people of color suffer the burden of disease and death far more than the white majority. This is especially true in Memphis. Although these disparities defy easy explanation, they’re undeniable and unjust. Christ Community provides our neighbors with a health care home – a place where they can build an effective relationship with a primary care provider and become advocates for their own health.

Loving your neighbor as you love yourself requires addressing injustice in meaningful ways. Since 1995, Christ Community has established our clinics in the community’s least medically served neighborhoods, caring for those who face the biggest barriers to medical care and who bear the brunt of health disparities.

Christ Community’s philosophy and culture draw their strength from the source of all healing – Jesus Christ. Through Christ’s teachings, we’ve received a mandate to care for those in need, in the same way we would want our own families to be cared for.

Four Core Values:

• Service: Jesus taught the disciples in Mark 10:45 the following: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” And, here at Christ Community, we must do the same. We must be committed to serving the needs of patients, their families, physicians, co-workers and all people we encounter. We are here to minister to them and show them the same compassion, grace and kindness that Christ has shown to us. Therefore, it is imperative that we are kind at all times and not rude, that we are joyful and not sad, that we are respectful and not demeaning, that we place the needs of others before our own and that we treat them in the same manner that we desire to be treated. Luke 6:30-31 states “Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.” In so doing, you will receive a great reward from your Father in Heaven for your acts of SERVICE.

• Excellence: Our mission is to provide quality health care services to the underserved in the context of distinctively Christian service. In order to do this, we must always strive for excellence. The Bible tells us in Colossians 3:23 that “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

• Faithfulness: In the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), Jesus explained to His disciples a story of a king and three servants who were given responsibilities while he was away. After inspecting the servants’ faithfulness in carrying out their responsibilities, he replied in the following manner to two of the servants: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” But the one who was not faithful was rebuked by the king and his talent was taken away and given to the one who was the most faithful.

• Unity: We have to remember that we are co-laborers working together to meet and minister to the needs of our patients by utilizing our unique talents and gifts to carry out the specific role that each of us have been given. In so doing, we all benefit because we will be working Together to Effectively Advance the Mission (TEAM) of CCHS.

Our People

Christ Community is brimming with committed individuals dedicated to serving their neighbors. Our employees are drawn to Christ Community because they desire to work in a faith-based setting and because the organization’s mission matches their own. To them, Christ Community is more than just a job, it’s a calling.

We’re proud that many of our staff, including several of our physicians and nurse practitioners, live, work and worship within the communities we serve. Christ Community not only strives to hire staff from the neighborhoods where we have health centers but also encourages staff members to consider moving into these neighborhoods and get involved outside the health center walls.

Christ Community Health Services

Christ Community Health Services has focused on fulfilling the physical, spiritual and emotional needs of the poor, the uninsured and the homeless in Memphis since 1995. Through our strategically placed health care centers and outreach programs, we provide high-quality health care and other services to thousands of patients, caregivers, students and families each year. Our goal is to go where the need is greatest to provide quality services in the name of Jesus Christ.

History

Christ Community began as the ill-defined dream of four medical students at LSU Health Science Center in New Orleans. David Pepperman, Rick Donlon, Karen Miller and Steve Besh met through a Christian Medical Dental Association small group bible study as first year students in 1986. Over the next several years, they stumbled along with a vision of using their medical training to honor God by caring for the medically underprivileged.

In 1990, the four students graduated from medical school and went separate ways for residency training. During the next three years, despite being geographically separated, they remained connected to each other and committed to their shared dream. After investigating practice opportunities in New Orleans and other Southern locales, they attended a recruitment fair for underserved Tennessee communities held in Nashville. They learned that Memphis had the largest concentration of medically underserved communities in the state; several parts of the city suffered severe shortages of primary care physicians.

After completing residency training in 1993, the founding four doctors settled in Memphis and began sharing their vision with anyone who would listen. For the next two years, they struggled to make ends meet, making presentations to banks, churches, civic groups and other institutions.

Through faith, prayer and determination, they eventually secured a $200,000 grant from the Baptist Memorial Health Care Foundation and found a location to renovate in southwest Memphis on Third Street. With the help of construction companies who donated labor and supplies and banks who allowed them to secure loans, Christ Community opened its doors, and the first patient was served in September 1995.

Over the subsequent years, Christ Community has grown its scope of services to include dental clinics, full-service pharmacies, a mobile medical van for the homeless, HIV/AIDS care and a host of other outreach programs. In calendar year 2009, Christ Community will provide more than100,000 medical and dental clinic visits in five Memphis communities.

Mission

Christ Community Health Services will provide high-quality health care to the underserved in the context of distinctively Christian service. We recognize that Jesus Christ is the true healer of individuals and their communities and the source of our ability to serve.
Values

A disingenuous religious teacher once asked Jesus Christ what the most important of all God’s commandments was. Jesus answered with two from the ancient book of Deuteronomy,

Description
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself.”

These two commandments provide a vision for life and work, a vision that we aspire to every day. Christ Community exists, first and always, to demonstrate the worthiness and majesty of God. Disciples of Jesus can, by their stumbling obedience, show the world that God is glorious and deserves the best of our hearts, souls, strengths and minds. Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men that they see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven.” We don’t serve the needy to gain God’s approval or make a name for ourselves; we do it to help others see how great God is.

The second commandment, to love our neighbors as ourselves, further influences our work. One of the most pervasive themes throughout the Bible is God’s concern for the poor and oppressed. In our nation, the wealthiest in the world, there’s an undeniable divide between the rich and the poor. Those with resources can obtain a good education, secure housing and first-rate health care. Our neighbors without resources face a very different reality. Profound health disparities exist in the United States; people of color suffer the burden of disease and death far more than the white majority. This is especially true in Memphis. Although these disparities defy easy explanation, they’re undeniable and unjust. Christ Community provides our neighbors with a health care home – a place where they can build an effective relationship with a primary care provider and become advocates for their own health.

Loving your neighbor as you love yourself requires addressing injustice in meaningful ways. Since 1995, Christ Community has established our clinics in the community’s least medically served neighborhoods, caring for those who face the biggest barriers to medical care and who bear the brunt of health disparities.

Christ Community’s philosophy and culture draw their strength from the source of all healing – Jesus Christ. Through Christ’s teachings, we’ve received a mandate to care for those in need, in the same way we would want our own families to be cared for.

Four Core Values:

• Service: Jesus taught the disciples in Mark 10:45 the following: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” And, here at Christ Community, we must do the same. We must be committed to serving the needs of patients, their families, physicians, co-workers and all people we encounter. We are here to minister to them and show them the same compassion, grace and kindness that Christ has shown to us. Therefore, it is imperative that we are kind at all times and not rude, that we are joyful and not sad, that we are respectful and not demeaning, that we place the needs of others before our own and that we treat them in the same manner that we desire to be treated. Luke 6:30-31 states “Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.” In so doing, you will receive a great reward from your Father in Heaven for your acts of SERVICE.

• Excellence: Our mission is to provide quality health care services to the underserved in the context of distinctively Christian service. In order to do this, we must always strive for excellence. The Bible tells us in Colossians 3:23 that “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

• Faithfulness: In the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), Jesus explained to His disciples a story of a king and three servants who were given responsibilities while he was away. After inspecting the servants’ faithfulness in carrying out their responsibilities, he replied in the following manner to two of the servants: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” But the one who was not faithful was rebuked by the king and his talent was taken away and given to the one who was the most faithful.

• Unity: We have to remember that we are co-laborers working together to meet and minister to the needs of our patients by utilizing our unique talents and gifts to carry out the specific role that each of us have been given. In so doing, we all benefit because we will be working Together to Effectively Advance the Mission (TEAM) of CCHS.

Our People

Christ Community is brimming with committed individuals dedicated to serving their neighbors. Our employees are drawn to Christ Community because they desire to work in a faith-based setting and because the organization’s mission matches their own. To them, Christ Community is more than just a job, it’s a calling.

We’re proud that many of our staff, including several of our physicians and nurse practitioners, live, work and worship within the communities we serve. Christ Community not only strives to hire staff from the neighborhoods where we have health centers but also encourages staff members to consider moving into these neighborhoods and get involved outside the health center walls.

Christ Community Health Services

Christ Community Health Services has focused on fulfilling the physical, spiritual and emotional needs of the poor, the uninsured and the homeless in Memphis since 1995. Through our strategically placed health care centers and outreach programs, we provide high-quality health care and other services to thousands of patients, caregivers, students and families each year. Our goal is to go where the need is greatest to provide quality services in the name of Jesus Christ.

History

Christ Community began as the ill-defined dream of four medical students at LSU Health Science Center in New Orleans. David Pepperman, Rick Donlon, Karen Miller and Steve Besh met through a Christian Medical Dental Association small group bible study as first year students in 1986. Over the next several years, they stumbled along with a vision of using their medical training to honor God by caring for the medically underprivileged.

In 1990, the four students graduated from medical school and went separate ways for residency training. During the next three years, despite being geographically separated, they remained connected to each other and committed to their shared dream. After investigating practice opportunities in New Orleans and other Southern locales, they attended a recruitment fair for underserved Tennessee communities held in Nashville. They learned that Memphis had the largest concentration of medically underserved communities in the state; several parts of the city suffered severe shortages of primary care physicians.

After completing residency training in 1993, the founding four doctors settled in Memphis and began sharing their vision with anyone who would listen. For the next two years, they struggled to make ends meet, making presentations to banks, churches, civic groups and other institutions.

Through faith, prayer and determination, they eventually secured a $200,000 grant from the Baptist Memorial Health Care Foundation and found a location to renovate in southwest Memphis on Third Street. With the help of construction companies who donated labor and supplies and banks who allowed them to secure loans, Christ Community opened its doors, and the first patient was served in September 1995.

Over the subsequent years, Christ Community has grown its scope of services to include dental clinics, full-service pharmacies, a mobile medical van for the homeless, HIV/AIDS care and a host of other outreach programs. In calendar year 2009, Christ Community will provide more than100,000 medical and dental clinic visits in five Memphis communities.

Mission

Christ Community Health Services will provide high-quality health care to the underserved in the context of distinctively Christian service. We recognize that Jesus Christ is the true healer of individuals and their communities and the source of our ability to serve.
Values

A disingenuous religious teacher once asked Jesus Christ what the most important of all God’s commandments was. Jesus answered with two from the ancient book of Deuteronomy, Description: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself.”

These two commandments provide a vision for life and work, a vision that we aspire to every day. Christ Community exists, first and always, to demonstrate the worthiness and majesty of God. Disciples of Jesus can, by their stumbling obedience, show the world that God is glorious and deserves the best of our hearts, souls, strengths and minds. Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men that they see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven.” We don’t serve the needy to gain God’s approval or make a name for ourselves; we do it to help others see how great God is.

The second commandment, to love our neighbors as ourselves, further influences our work. One of the most pervasive themes throughout the Bible is God’s concern for the poor and oppressed. In our nation, the wealthiest in the world, there’s an undeniable divide between the rich and the poor. Those with resources can obtain a good education, secure housing and first-rate health care. Our neighbors without resources face a very different reality. Profound health disparities exist in the United States; people of color suffer the burden of disease and death far more than the white majority. This is especially true in Memphis. Although these disparities defy easy explanation, they’re undeniable and unjust. Christ Community provides our neighbors with a health care home – a place where they can build an effective relationship with a primary care provider and become advocates for their own health.

Loving your neighbor as you love yourself requires addressing injustice in meaningful ways. Since 1995, Christ Community has established our clinics in the community’s least medically served neighborhoods, caring for those who face the biggest barriers to medical care and who bear the brunt of health disparities.

Christ Community’s philosophy and culture draw their strength from the source of all healing – Jesus Christ. Through Christ’s teachings, we’ve received a mandate to care for those in need, in the same way we would want our own families to be cared for.

Four Core Values:

• Service: Jesus taught the disciples in Mark 10:45 the following: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” And, here at Christ Community, we must do the same. We must be committed to serving the needs of patients, their families, physicians, co-workers and all people we encounter. We are here to minister to them and show them the same compassion, grace and kindness that Christ has shown to us. Therefore, it is imperative that we are kind at all times and not rude, that we are joyful and not sad, that we are respectful and not demeaning, that we place the needs of others before our own and that we treat them in the same manner that we desire to be treated. Luke 6:30-31 states “Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.” In so doing, you will receive a great reward from your Father in Heaven for your acts of SERVICE.

• Excellence: Our mission is to provide quality health care services to the underserved in the context of distinctively Christian service. In order to do this, we must always strive for excellence. The Bible tells us in Colossians 3:23 that “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

• Faithfulness: In the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), Jesus explained to His disciples a story of a king and three servants who were given responsibilities while he was away. After inspecting the servants’ faithfulness in carrying out their responsibilities, he replied in the following manner to two of the servants: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” But the one who was not faithful was rebuked by the king and his talent was taken away and given to the one who was the most faithful.

• Unity: We have to remember that we are co-laborers working together to meet and minister to the needs of our patients by utilizing our unique talents and gifts to carry out the specific role that each of us have been given. In so doing, we all benefit because we will be working Together to Effectively Advance the Mission (TEAM) of CCHS.

Our People

Christ Community is brimming with committed individuals dedicated to serving their neighbors. Our employees are drawn to Christ Community because they desire to work in a faith-based setting and because the organization’s mission matches their own. To them, Christ Community is more than just a job, it’s a calling.

We’re proud that many of our staff, including several of our physicians and nurse practitioners, live, work and worship within the communities we serve. Christ Community not only strives to hire staff from the neighborhoods where we have health centers but also encourages staff members to consider moving into these neighborhoods and get involved outside the health center walls.

Christ Community Health Services

Christ Community Health Services has focused on fulfilling the physical, spiritual and emotional needs of the poor, the uninsured and the homeless in Memphis since 1995. Through our strategically placed health care centers and outreach programs, we provide high-quality health care and other services to thousands of patients, caregivers, students and families each year. Our goal is to go where the need is greatest to provide quality services in the name of Jesus Christ.

History

Christ Community began as the ill-defined dream of four medical students at LSU Health Science Center in New Orleans. David Pepperman, Rick Donlon, Karen Miller and Steve Besh met through a Christian Medical Dental Association small group bible study as first year students in 1986. Over the next several years, they stumbled along with a vision of using their medical training to honor God by caring for the medically underprivileged.

In 1990, the four students graduated from medical school and went separate ways for residency training. During the next three years, despite being geographically separated, they remained connected to each other and committed to their shared dream. After investigating practice opportunities in New Orleans and other Southern locales, they attended a recruitment fair for underserved Tennessee communities held in Nashville. They learned that Memphis had the largest concentration of medically underserved communities in the state; several parts of the city suffered severe shortages of primary care physicians.

After completing residency training in 1993, the founding four doctors settled in Memphis and began sharing their vision with anyone who would listen. For the next two years, they struggled to make ends meet, making presentations to banks, churches, civic groups and other institutions.

Through faith, prayer and determination, they eventually secured a $200,000 grant from the Baptist Memorial Health Care Foundation and found a location to renovate in southwest Memphis on Third Street. With the help of construction companies who donated labor and supplies and banks who allowed them to secure loans, Christ Community opened its doors, and the first patient was served in September 1995.

Over the subsequent years, Christ Community has grown its scope of services to include dental clinics, full-service pharmacies, a mobile medical van for the homeless, HIV/AIDS care and a host of other outreach programs. In calendar year 2009, Christ Community will provide more than100,000 medical and dental clinic visits in five Memphis communities.

Mission

Christ Community Health Services will provide high-quality health care to the underserved in the context of distinctively Christian service. We recognize that Jesus Christ is the true healer of individuals and their communities and the source of our ability to serve.
Values

A disingenuous religious teacher once asked Jesus Christ what the most important of all God’s commandments was. Jesus answered with two from the ancient book of Deuteronomy, Description: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself.”

These two commandments provide a vision for life and work, a vision that we aspire to every day. Christ Community exists, first and always, to demonstrate the worthiness and majesty of God. Disciples of Jesus can, by their stumbling obedience, show the world that God is glorious and deserves the best of our hearts, souls, strengths and minds. Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men that they see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven.” We don’t serve the needy to gain God’s approval or make a name for ourselves; we do it to help others see how great God is.

The second commandment, to love our neighbors as ourselves, further influences our work. One of the most pervasive themes throughout the Bible is God’s concern for the poor and oppressed. In our nation, the wealthiest in the world, there’s an undeniable divide between the rich and the poor. Those with resources can obtain a good education, secure housing and first-rate health care. Our neighbors without resources face a very different reality. Profound health disparities exist in the United States; people of color suffer the burden of disease and death far more than the white majority. This is especially true in Memphis. Although these disparities defy easy explanation, they’re undeniable and unjust. Christ Community provides our neighbors with a health care home – a place where they can build an effective relationship with a primary care provider and become advocates for their own health.

Loving your neighbor as you love yourself requires addressing injustice in meaningful ways. Since 1995, Christ Community has established our clinics in the community’s least medically served neighborhoods, caring for those who face the biggest barriers to medical care and who bear the brunt of health disparities.

Christ Community’s philosophy and culture draw their strength from the source of all healing – Jesus Christ. Through Christ’s teachings, we’ve received a mandate to care for those in need, in the same way we would want our own families to be cared for.

Four Core Values:

• Service: Jesus taught the disciples in Mark 10:45 the following: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” And, here at Christ Community, we must do the same. We must be committed to serving the needs of patients, their families, physicians, co-workers and all people we encounter. We are here to minister to them and show them the same compassion, grace and kindness that Christ has shown to us. Therefore, it is imperative that we are kind at all times and not rude, that we are joyful and not sad, that we are respectful and not demeaning, that we place the needs of others before our own and that we treat them in the same manner that we desire to be treated. Luke 6:30-31 states “Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.” In so doing, you will receive a great reward from your Father in Heaven for your acts of SERVICE.

• Excellence: Our mission is to provide quality health care services to the underserved in the context of distinctively Christian service. In order to do this, we must always strive for excellence. The Bible tells us in Colossians 3:23 that “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

• Faithfulness: In the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), Jesus explained to His disciples a story of a king and three servants who were given responsibilities while he was away. After inspecting the servants’ faithfulness in carrying out their responsibilities, he replied in the following manner to two of the servants: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” But the one who was not faithful was rebuked by the king and his talent was taken away and given to the one who was the most faithful.

• Unity: We have to remember that we are co-laborers working together to meet and minister to the needs of our patients by utilizing our unique talents and gifts to carry out the specific role that each of us have been given. In so doing, we all benefit because we will be working Together to Effectively Advance the Mission (TEAM) of CCHS.

Our People

Christ Community is brimming with committed individuals dedicated to serving their neighbors. Our employees are drawn to Christ Community because they desire to work in a faith-based setting and because the organization’s mission matches their own. To them, Christ Community is more than just a job, it’s a calling.

We’re proud that many of our staff, including several of our physicians and nurse practitioners, live, work and worship within the communities we serve. Christ Community not only strives to hire staff from the neighborhoods where we have health centers but also encourages staff members to consider moving into these neighborhoods and get involved outside the health center walls.

Church Health Center

Our Core Values

• Trusted
  Those we serve depend on us to “do what we say we will do”, today and in the future. Our donors and volunteers trust us to be good stewards of their gifts.
  Compassionate

“There is a sweet spirit in this caring place.” We are encouraging, supportive and welcoming.

• Committed
  “We are not going away.” We are faithful to our mission and, with the help of others, will sustain our ministries.

• Quality
  We provide innovative, whole person care using best practices and highest standards, which is “good enough for our mothers”.

History

Dr. Scott Morris, a family practice physician and ordained United Methodist minister, founded the Church Health Center in 1987 to provide quality, affordable healthcare for working, uninsured people and their families. Thanks to a broad base of financial support from the faith community, and the volunteer help of doctors, nurses, dentists and others, the Church Health Center Clinic has grown to become the largest faith-based clinic of its type in the country. Currently, we care for 70,000 patients of record without relying on government funding. Fees are charged on a sliding scale based on income. The average visit costs about $20.

In 1986, after college, seminary, medical school and his ordination as a United Methodist minister, Dr. Morris moved to Memphis. Memphis has historically been one of the poorest major cities in America, a city with a vast and growing population of uninsured people. Dr. Morris knew the need would certainly be there, and if the Center could work in Memphis, it could work anywhere.

At St. John’s United Methodist Church, Dr. Morris was appointed as an associate pastor in 1986 (a position he maintains to this day) and he began to plan and to raise the initial funding for the Church Health Center. St. John’s purchased the Center’s first building, a dilapidated boarding house across the street from the church, and agreed to lease it to the Center for $1 per year, a fee that remains the same to this day. Central Church agreed to finance the renovation of the building and its conversion to a clinic. The Memphis-based Plough Foundation and Methodist Hospital each agreed to give funding to launch the Center. Dr. Morris and one nurse saw 12 patients on September 1, 1987, and since then the Church Health Center has grown to handle over 36,000 patient visits a year.

But healthcare is about more than just prescribing pills. We at the Church Health Center believe we have a responsibility to take care of the bodies God gave us, so we have been committed from our beginning to health education and prevention. Our Wellness ministry now offers everything from personalized exercise plans and cooking classes to group exercise classes and activities for children and teens. CHC Wellness is open to the entire community with fees charged on a sliding scale based on family size and income. More than 100,000 member visits are recorded annually.

Our Faith Community Outreach staff offers hope for a healthier life by reaching people where they worship. The Church Health Center provides the support, consultation and education to start or strengthen health ministries in congregations. Since 1988, more than 600 Congregational Health Promoters have been trained to be health leaders within their congregations. Faith Community Outreach also develops faith-health curriculum for congregations and collaborates with faith communities in other ways as well.

The MEMPHIS Plan is the Church Health Center’s employer-sponsored healthcare plan for small business and the self-employed. By relying on donated services from volunteer doctors and area hospitals and laboratories, the MEMPHIS Plan offers uninsured people in lower-wage jobs access to quality, affordable healthcare.

University of Tennessee Dental Practice

Profile

As the flagship statewide academic health system, the mission of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is to bring the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region, by pursuing an integrated program of education, research, clinical care, and public service.

In 1911, the University of Tennessee first launched its Memphis campus, dedicating it solely to health science education and research. Seed programs in medicine, dentistry and pharmacy quickly flourished, and within a few short years, new programs were initiated in allied health sciences, graduate health sciences, and nursing. Each of those programs grew to become a college in its own right. In 1963, the UT Graduate School of Medicine in Knoxville became part of the UT Health Science Center, and in 1974, the UT College of Medicine, Chattanooga, joined the UTHSC system.

Today, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s Memphis campus comprises six colleges – Allied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy – training the health care scientists and caregivers of tomorrow. Nearly 2,700 students are enrolled at UTHSC, which also offers a broad range of postgraduate training opportunities. Our students can be found on one of the three major Health Science Center campuses in Memphis (main campus), Knoxville or Chattanooga, as well as in a myriad of health-care-related facilities across Tennessee.

Statewide, approximately 996 residents and fellows receive training in 75 ACGME (Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education) accredited training programs through the UTHSC Graduate Medical Education Program. Fifteen of these programs are under the auspices of the UT Graduate School of Medicine in Knoxville; 10 are sponsored by the Chattanooga College of Medicine; and 50 programs are organized from Memphis, including a family practice residency in Jackson, Tenn., and an internal medicine residency in Nashville. Public and continuing education programs are offered throughout the state. A total of 15 teaching hospitals and clinical facilities across the state have a formal affiliation with UTHSC.

Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, UTHSC offers four undergraduate and 20 graduate or professional degrees. With more than 50 endowed professorships, including 19 Chairs of Excellence, the campus is home to three Centers of Excellence in neuroscience, molecular resources, and pharmacokinetics and therapeutics.

The Health Science Center’s six colleges reflect a broad spectrum of scientific investigation. Pursuing basic science and clinical research with an emphasis on translational research, UTHSC investigators are supported by both government grants and private funding. In fiscal 2007 (July 2006 to June 2007), more than $107 million in National Institutes of Health grants funded research at UTHSC.

Memphis is quickly emerging as a nationally recognized biotech research center, and UTHSC is quite literally at its nucleus as the research hub. Adjacent to the Memphis campus is the UT-Baptist Research Park, planned for completion in 2010. A new 190,000-square-foot College of Pharmacy building and a state-of-the-art Regional Biocontainment Laboratory, scheduled for completion in 2009 and 2008, respectively, will anchor the park. Rounding out current building projects in Memphis is the new Cancer Research Building, which opened in spring 2007.

UTHSC growth has also included expansion in Knoxville. To meet the growing demand for pharmacists, a second UT College of Pharmacy building opened on the Knoxville campus in fall 2007 and will enroll an additional 225 students annually. The UT College of Pharmacy is further extending its reach across the state by adding Clinical Education Centers in Chattanooga, Jackson, Kingsport and Nashville.

Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center

History

MATTHEW WALKER COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH CENTER began humbly, in the North Nashville community, as an extension of Meharry Medical Center and Hubbard Hospital as a family oriented ambulatory center. The Center was named after Dr. Matthew Walker, Sr. to honor him for his lifetime of service to the community and Meharry Medical College. The Center’s primary purpose was to provide comprehensive health services to the underserved population in one convenient location, to prevent and treat disease, and to provide jobs for persons of low economic and educational backgrounds.

The Center was the first federally qualified health center in the state of Tennessee. The original funding was made possible through a federal loan of $1,450,800 to Meharry Medical Center, who at the time was the sponsor of the project. The loan was provided through the Office of Economic Opportunity.

Ground-breaking ceremonies were at the corner of 14th Avenue and Herman Street in August 1968. In the following month, the Center began operations in a small temporary, remodeled building at 1310 Jefferson Street until construction of the new center on Herman Street could be completed. The outreach services and aide training took place in a converted store front at 1107 Jefferson Street and the planning and administrative office was located at 1802 Albion Street.

During 1974-75, MATTHEW WALKER COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH CENTER and Comprehensive Health Center of Meharry were consolidated to eliminate duplication of services and overlapping of staff. In December 1974, a director was selected for the two programs eliminating the two director positions of each health center. In 1977-78, the level of the federal grant funds began to decrease, even though the operating costs were steadily increasing. A decision was then made to discontinue the consolidation approach of the two centers, and in February 1979 the MATTHEW WALKER COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH CENTER became its own free-standing primary care facility. The Center was later changed to MATTHEW WALKER COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH CENTER INC.

Over the next two decades MATTHEW WALKER COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH CENTER had many accomplishments including its first accreditation by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals in 1984 and the opening of a satellite site in 1999 (a former location on Dickerson Road). In July 2002, under the leadership of then CEO Michelle B. Marrs, MATTHEW WALKER COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH CENTER launched a $5 million capital campaign to fund construction of a new, modern building. This feat was realized in October 2004 and MATTHEW WALKER COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH CENTER relocated to the new state-of-the-art healthcare facility located on the corner of 14th and historic Jefferson Street at 1035 14th Avenue North. In January 2008, MATTHEW WALKER COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH CENTER opened a new community health center in Clarksville, Tennessee in response to a federal call for community health centers to fill the gap for medical treatment in underserved communities.

Since 1968 MATTHEW WALKER COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH CENTER has demonstrated a commitment to fulfilling the vision of reducing barriers to healthcare one by one and tackling new challenges as they arise.

Profile

Mission

To provide quality healthcare services, health education and to promote wellness.

Vision

To be the provider of choice offering quality state-of-the-art healthcare services to our patients regardless of their ability to pay.

Commitment

We have over 100 dedicated professionals who are trained to provide you the best practices in health care. From our start until today, through the quality of medical and dental care we deliver and the wellness education programs we provide to every patient who needs health care, regardless of their economic status each day, we renew our continued commitment to service.

Values

• Customer Service:
  Our focus is the patient. Every patient interaction is an opportunity to make a positive difference. Excellent service must be the end result of all our efforts. We will strive to provide services that exceed our patients’ needs, wants, and expectations.

• Community:
  We will maintain a strong sense of community outreach that enables us to be a catalyst for developing programs to address health and other community-related concerns.

• Communications:
  We expect a clear and open exchange of information that will enhance understanding our internal and external patient needs, wants, and expectations.

• Ethics, Honesty and Integrity:
  We believe in a code of ethics that embodies mutual respect, fairness, and truthfulness.

• Cost
  MATTHEW WALKER COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH CENTER serves anyone with TennCare, Medicare and most private health insurance. Patients without insurance can apply and have the cost of visits, labs and medications reduced based on verified income. Nominal co-payments are expected at the time of the appointment.

Dental Services

MATTHEW WALKER COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH CENTER offers a full range of preventative, restorative and rehabilitative dental care services. We recognize that in order to provide comprehensive healthcare, dentistry must play an integral role in the primary care services that we offer to our patients. Dental exams and cleanings, oral cancer screenings, dentures, partials, tooth colored fillings, crowns, tooth extractions, root canal, implants and a wide range of cosmetic services are only a few of the children and adult dental care services we provide.

We also offer coordination of care services through our dental department. For instance we offer dental screenings and cleanings to all prenatal patients in the first trimester of pregnancy to improve birth outcomes and to promote prenatal dental education and awareness.

In order to provide lifelong oral health maintenance we help our patients establish a personal and professional maintenance program. There are evidential based findings that link oral health and periodontal disease to such things as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease and oral cancer to name a few. Due to the recurring nature of periodontal disease we offer the following during oral health maintenance exams:

• Review your current dental and medical history.
• Review any changes in your medications and their effects on your oral health.
• Do a complete oral cancer screening.
• Record, compare, and evaluate your current periodontal status with your past records to detect any early changes in your periodontal health.
• Complete all necessary periodontal maintenance procedures using the newest techniques and most modern equipment.
• Take any necessary x-rays to evaluate the supporting structures of your teeth.
• Review your home care program.
• Apply topical fluoride to your teeth.
• Make any necessary recommendations about your future oral healthcare needs.
• Update your referring dentist about your current oral health status.

MATTHEW WALKER COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH CENTER dental care services are provided at both our Nashville and Clarksville facilities.