body, With the nearestfreehealthcare clinic in North Little Rock, a group of Harding students and faculty decided to take matters into their own hands to give relief to the poor of the Searcy community. Physicians, pharmacists and students had provided free primary care to the uninsured, low-income community of Arkansas through the Christian Health Ministry since 2001, when a group of nursing students did a community assessment and found there was a lack of aid for Arkansas residents between the ages of 18 and 65 years old and decided to do something about it. A board of directors stepped in, and the project turned into an official non-profit organization depending solely on voluntary services and the support of local churches. • • volunteer, and to continue doing it." The ministry mostly served patients with long-term illnesses every Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. They served around 30 patients and refilled roughly 17 prescriptions per day. At times there was a much higher demand than the volunteers could accommodate, but they did everything possible with the time, space and funding given them. "The part that makes me saddest is that people living in poverty always have poorer health outcomes," Kelley said. "They die earlier and they die sicker." "While Downtown Church of Christ and Harding weighed in heavily on the board of directors and volunteers, the focus of the ministry was Christ, not a public organization," Assistant Professor of Nursing Karen Kelley said. Most student volunteers came from the College of Nursing, College of Education, the pre-physician's assistant The Christian Health Ministry treats patients who do not qualify for health core assistance. The clinic encouraged clients to give a donation of $5 for treatment. Ashe/ Parsons Most patients were chronically ill, suffering with anything from diabetes to depression, but did not qualify for health care assistance. A significant number of the patients that visited the clinic had jobs but worked less than full _time, exempting them from any full-time benefits. Some patients, for a variety of.rlasons, did not work at all or could onlyfind seasonal jobs, forcing them to juropiJom position to position without a sf,.ady income. While patients were encouraged to donate five dollars for treatment, some gave more and some could not afford to give anything. program and the College of Pharmacy. Some volunteered in order to fulfill a class requirement or clinical rotation, while others counted it as service learning. "We are Christians coming together to each use our skills in serving others. The focus is on showing Christ," Kelley said. "I want the students to see how easy and rewarding it is to 188 academics "These are working people who are just down on their luck," Rebecca Rozear, a 2007 alumnus, said. "It hurts their pride to ask for a handout, but they have no other option. They don't need judgment, they don't need censure; they need the support of a Christian community." Monique jacques
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