Doctor reclaims calling to heal 'whole person'
May. 3, 2006 News media contact: Kathy Gilbert * (615) 7425470* Nashville {259}
NOTE: Photographs, audio and a related report, UMNS story #260, are available at http://umns.umc.org.
By Kathy L. Gilbert*
GALLATIN, Tenn. (UMNS) - The Salvus Center looks like most doctor offices: magazines on coffee tables, paper sheets on examining beds, medical equipment tucked in corners and a well-stocked medical supply room.
But a closer look reveals things you don't usually see - crosses in the treatment rooms and Bibles in the lobby.
In a clinic full of Christian symbols, Dr. Ted Hill is a United Methodist physician who has "reclaimed his call from God" and opened a faith-based health clinic in Sumner County for working people who have no health insurance coverage.
The clinic operates just like any other doctor's office, but patients only pay a portion of the fees they would normally be charged.
According to some of the latest statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2005 the poverty level was $10,160 for a single adult under 65 years old and $20,144 for a four-person household. More than half of the U.S. population lives below 200 percent of the poverty level.
Fees at the Salvus Center range from $5 to $30, depending on a person's income. For people who are 200 percent or more below the poverty level, prescription drugs are issued on a sliding scale from $1 (generic) to $3. For those 100 percent below the poverty level, drugs are $5 (generic) to $10.
Salvation and healing
"Salvus" is Greek for "salvation" and "healing." The center has seen more than 130 patients since opening March 20. Hill is hoping word of mouth will draw more people who need the services. "We have to develop some trust in the community," he says.
Patients who come through the doors are from 25 to 55, which is typical for clinics like the Salvus Center, he says. The younger patients are people who no longer qualify for their parents' insurance plans and aren't making enough money to afford health coverage.
Many middle-aged people work for companies that don't offer insurance and can't afford to buy coverage, he says. Others are "uninsurable" or have been kicked out of insurance plans.
"We do see some immigrants, and as the trust factor builds, we hope to see more," he says.
"There are 1,800 clinics in the United States that do this kind of work," Hill says. The Salvus Center is modeled on the Church Health Center in Memphis, which has been in operation for 17 years, sees 40,000 patients a year and has an annual budget of $10 million.
"The point is it can be done if you do it right," he says. "We have been working very hard to do it right."
Acts of mercy
Before becoming medical director for the Salvus Center, Hill had a private practice in Gallatin for 26 years. He made a lot of contacts over the years and is "calling in the favors now," he says.
"I don't work for free," he says, smiling. "I do get a salary for working here, but it is a significant reduction from what I had before."
After attending the Academy for Spiritual Formation sponsored by the United Methodist Upper Room, Hill says he began to understand that a Christians' role involves acts of mercy in the world.
"I began to see at the end of the day my efforts were translated into money," he says. "There is nothing wrong with making a living, but when you realize your life speaks, the question was, 'What is my life saying? What is my witness?' And the witness was I was making a good living - more than I needed - and I began to look at other avenues to reclaim my calling, which is to minister to people in a whole way."
'Amazing and mysterious ways'
Hill began talking about issues of health care and the number of people "who fall through the cracks" with other colleagues in the medical and faith communities.
Then, about a year ago, he approached the chief executive of a local hospital with the question: "If the Lord opened the doors and I decided to do this in Gallatin, would the hospital be supportive?" As it happened, the executive was having similar conversations with others in the community and had planned a meeting for the next day. All he lacked was the name of a doctor who would be willing to provide medical care.
"I showed up the day before the meeting," Hill says. "I felt like it was providential. God has really opened doors ever since then in amazing and mysterious ways."
In June, Hill is hoping to be commissioned as an ordained deacon in the United Methodist Church during the Tennessee Annual Conference. "I have been working on a seminary degree in my spare time for the last few years," he says.
"Part of what I want to do as a deacon is to say to the church we need to reclaim the issues of healing within the church," he says. When his father started his ministry 60 years ago, ministers were the healthiest part of the population, he says. "Now they are the sickest."
The issues of clergy health and how Christians take care of themselves are issues of healing, he says. "I feel like Jesus' ministry was not only teaching and preaching but it was healing, and healing was just as important as the other two," he says. "I think that from the scientific revolution on, we have given that over to other disciplines. Healing really started in the church."
Enough for everyone
Hill is passionate about caring for those in need.
"There is enough for everybody in the world," he says. "The problem is some of us have more than we need and some of us are starving. There is an epidemic of obesity in the United States and an epidemic of starvation in the rest of the world. Something is not right here."
Support for the center has come from many sources, including area hospitals, foundations, grants and organizations such as United Way.
"Because I am a deacon and a church person, I have gone to many different faith groups," Hill says. "We have been supported by a cross section of the faith community. We really are very ecumenically supported, and we are very grateful for that."
Faith groups understand the issue of calling, mission and ministry, he says.
"We are not about any particular faith persuasion," he says. "We have Christian symbols and we talk about our faith, but we are not exclusive in handing out a cup of water to anyone in need."
*Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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United Methodist News Service Photos and stories also available at: http://umns.umc.org
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