It was my honor to award the 14th Family Medicine Cares USA
Grant to the Free Clinic of Meridian, located in Meridian, MS. The Free Clinic of Meridian opened in
November 2014, and is an example of a community engagement overcoming multiple
obstacles. It was a great experience
getting to drive over and spend a few hours meeting some wonderful people and
formally awarding them a much-deserved grant.
We had a quick tour of the facility prior to the presentation. You enter into the clinic into a fairly
spacious waiting room. They have four
exam rooms, a conference room where patient education classes (e.g. diabetes,
nutrition/diet and smoking cessation) and/or consultation takes place;
in-take/out-take areas, and a nursing station.
Lee Valentine, MD is the AAFP member who served as the
applicant for the grant and is a board member and provider for the clinic. Dr. Valentine is a family physician with over
three decades of experience practicing in rural Mississippi, who just recently
helped found a DO residency in Meridian (only the 4th Family Medicine residency
in the state, and the 3rd rural program.) Interestingly, Dr. Valentine worked with two
competing local hospitals to develop backing for the residency program, and
that cooperation extends to the free clinic, which has financial backing and
support from both the Rush Foundation Hospital and the Anderson Regional
Medical Center. In fact, the Free Clinic of Meridian is located in a building that is leased from one of the hospitals
for $1 a year, and that hospital continues to pay the utilities. Further, both hospitals have donated
equipment and ancillary services to support the clinic. 
At the award ceremony, we also enjoyed meeting several board
members, two of which deserve special recognition. The Board President Brenda Hiatt and
Vice-President Cathy Williamson are community members who have been
instrumental in rallying the community behind the clinic. The staff and providers for the clinic are
all volunteers. Residents of the Meridian program area are already serving in
the clinic, and medical students and nurse practitioner students are beginning
to spend time there while rotating at the local hospitals. The clinic provides primary care services,
mental health counseling and assistance with engaging community social
services. 
The grant is in the amount of $17,805 and is being used for
much needed upgrades to donated equipment such as some very outdated exam
tables. It will also purchase a
phlebotomy chair, which was described as “one of those things we never knew we
would need until we got started.” The
clinic already has a waiting list of 3-4 months for new patients as a result of
the high demand in the area. Currently
300 patients are registered. They are working
to add new providers and volunteers to increase their hours of operation, which
are currently 16-20 hours a week.
