Wednesday, February 23, 2022

Jackson Free Clinic Marks 2 Decades of "Wellness Magic"

Gary Pettus authored the following UMC press release.

 Every morning on his way to medical school, Brittain Heindl learned a lot about the lives of patients before he ever got to class.

He learned it from the anxious faces of many who were just leaving the hospital at UMMC – with no money, no car and no way home.

“They were looking for a ride. When you see this, it’s clear how much poverty there is, and it’s right there in areas that back right up to the Medical Center,” said Dr. Brittain Heindl, now a cardiologist in Birmingham. “There are very few avenues for doing anything about it.”

He found one, though, and for exactly two decades now, it has given hundreds of students a chance to get up every Saturday morning and help change the world, or at least the corner of it served by the Jackson Free Clinic.

A celebration of its mission, bringing free health care services to people who otherwise couldn’t afford them, starts at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson: the Jackson Free Clinic 20th Anniversary Fundraising Gala. 

For more information about the free clinic or gala, visit www.jacksonfreeclinic.org/gala.

The creation of a doctor born in Nigeria, educated in Africa, Georgia and California, and invested professionally and personally in Mississippi, the physician-supervised clinic opened in 2002, when it, like many of its patients, didn’t have a home of its own.

It has filled a need not only for the people cared for there, but also for those who cared for them, including Dr. Katie Taylor of Jackson, who was present when the clinic opened its doors for the first time.

“Volunteering there was a way to keep in touch with why I went to medical school in the first place,” said Taylor, now Deputy State Epidemiologist at the Mississippi State Department of Health.

And it’s true for JoJo Dodd of Picayune, a fourth-year medical student, who is there now: “Working at the Jackson Free Clinic,” he said, “has been the most meaningful thing I’ve done in medical school.”

‘In the medical care gap’

During the gala Friday, featured speakers will acknowledge the clinic’s prominent place in the lives of patients and students alike. Among those at the podium will be Glenn Boyce, chancellor of the University of Mississippi, and Dr. LouAnn Woodward, vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine at UMMC.

“For the last two decades, the Jackson Free Clinic has stood in the medical care gap for hundreds of patients in need of treatment,” Woodward said. “Their work benefits both patients, who receive medical care, and students, who learn the art and science of serving others.

“I congratulate them for making such a remarkable impact over the last 20 years, and I anticipate that the symbiotic relationship between patient and caregiver through this volunteer service will continue for years to come.”

For their relationship with the free clinic, for their commitment and for ensuring that their residents have been active there, two Medical Center leaders will be honored during the ceremony: Dr. Shannon Pittman, chair and professor of family medicine, and Dr. Calvin Thigpen, associate professor of medicine-internal medicine. Luis Espinoza of the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance, will be recognized, too, for his organization’s partnership with JFC.

“The awards for Dr. Pittman and Dr. Thigpen are for them personally and for their departments,” said Dodd, the current chair and COO of the free clinic.

“We are proud that we are a student-run and student-owned clinic, but without the support of the Medical Center and support of internal medicine and family medicine, the students at the Jackson Free Clinic would not have a whole lot to run.”

In the beginning, it ran because of Dr. Joyce Olutade, its founder and first medical director, whose professional and personal education led her to America from Calabar in Nigeria, where, as a young girl, she saw civil war deprive people of their lives and their homes.

These images stayed with her through her years at Emory University and Morehouse College in Atlanta. Certainly they were with her when she was on leave from UMMC during her fellowship at the University of California San Diego; there, in 2000, she got her first sight of a student-run clinic for patients who, in many cases, didn’t have a doctor or a home.

“That’s where I learned the nuts-and-bolts of getting such a clinic up and running,” said Olutade, assistant professor of family medicine at UMMC. “That was my fellowship project.”

That project was the Jackson Free Clinic for the Homeless – a qualification that was soon dropped because, as Taylor puts it: “If people came in and needed us, we helped.”

‘It was worth it’

Those were the people Olutade had always wanted to serve – the underserved; many held down jobs but couldn’t afford insurance. With the blessing of Dr. Lessa Phillips, UMMC chair of family medicine at the time, attending to these patients became possible when a grant provided $10,000 in seed money to establish the non-profit clinic in Jackson. But it took a while before anyone could get their hands on the funds.

“We had to depend on a lot of donations of equipment at first,” Olutade said. “The first location was at Voice of Calvary Clinic on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. They gave us some space there for free and we worked there on weekends. They had the beds. We brought the stethoscopes.”

After a year, Olutade and her students were able to move into their own place, a donated building on the same street, at 925 MLK Jr. Drive. “But we needed help,” she said. “So a lot of donations came from the students’ parents. And the lawyer who really helped us was Ro Taylor, the father of one of the students.”

The student’s name: Katie Taylor.

“During my M1 year, when I first learned about the free clinic, they were working on getting 501c3 status and trying to find an attorney to assist them,” Taylor said. “I mentioned that to my father and he helped guide the clinic leadership through that process as well as other things. 

“It was also a contact of his who was responsible for donating the use of a building to the clinic.”

Rowan H. “Ro” Taylor Jr. took care of everything, Olutade said. “All I had to do was sign the papers. I will always remember Mr. Ro Taylor.”

With help from the community project-minded members of the SAE fraternity at Mississippi State University who cleaned up the building, the medical students also went to work painting the walls and more, Katie Taylor said.

“I spent my Saturdays there pretty much through medical school,” said Taylor, who graduated in 2005. “It took a good bit of effort to volunteer there and go to school, too, and I’m glad I did it.

“We did have help, especially from the Department of Family Medicine. Some physicians and residents would come in and supervise.”

Their presence was required, no less so when it came to writing prescriptions, particularly those not on the four-dollar list of large retail pharmacies. Under the physicians’ supervision, students would give them to patients to be filled at certain small, usually locally-owned, pharmacies, such as Brent’s Drugs in Fondren. While the clinic paid for the medications, pharmacies offered a discount or at-cost arrangement, Taylor said.

“It was interesting to see the way the community would help out, and we needed it. We didn’t have much money at the time. And we didn’t always have a bunch of patients.

“It started small, but it was worth it when it was small, too.” Several years after she graduated, it was getting a lot bigger.

‘The immeasurable things’

By the time Heindl, Class of 2012, was winding up his last year or so in medical school, the clinic clearly needed more space – that is, it needed to take advantage of what it already had.

“We were using only half of the building,” Heindl said. The students found an architect, got an estimate on the cost rehabbing the place and began asking for donations.

“I guess we were pretty naïve,” Heindl said. “We were calling around and getting only small donations or a lot of ‘no’s.’

“One day, Bobby Tullos just handed us a bunch of hammers. We worked all day hammering on walls, clearing out space.”

Now a pulmonologist and critical care specialist in Gulfport, Dr. Bobby Tullos began volunteering at the clinic as an M1 in 2008 because, he said, “with medicine, we can improve things we can measure – blood sugar, blood pressure, heart rate; but it’s the immeasurable things that often give you the greatest satisfaction – such as knowing you can help improve someone’s life.”

As a member of the clinic’s board, he and other students wanted to set up the clinic for growth immediately and for the future. “That’s why we started a capital campaign,” he said.

The Community Foundation of Mississippi helped the students establish a donation fund. When the Medical Center came up with $150,000, “that really put a lot of wind in our sails,” Tullos said.

A $150,000 match poured in from a major hospital corporation. A variety of foundations came through as well, including the Bower Foundation. Soon, the clinic volunteers had more than $400,000 to work with, and they made the most of it.

“Until that time, only medical students worked in the clinic,” Tullos said. “There were a few pieces missing. With the added space and patient rooms, we partnered with students in the School of Health Related Professions and the School of Dentistry.

“Occupational therapist and physical therapists began coming to the clinic. Dental chairs were installed. We were on the way to becoming a full-service clinic for those who needed it the most.”

The outpouring of funds from the Medical Center was made possible by leaders who had the clinic’s interests at heart, including Dr. James Keeton, vice chancellor for health affairs at the time, and Woodward, who was associate vice chancellor. Heindl credits Dr. Jerry Clark for getting them very interested.

“We students did a lot of legwork, but I really think Dr. Clark raised a lot of that money,” Heindl said.

Back then, Clark considered the clinic “the best-kept secret in Mississippi.” At the time, and for many years, he was chief student affairs officer and associate dean for student affairs in the School of Medicine; nobody knew medical students better than Clark.

“The clinic is wonderful on so many levels,” said Clark, who is now the student liaison for student affairs in the School of Medicine. “So when Brittain Heindl called, I hustled. The money we all raised sort of put them in a whole new orbit, and I was glad to help with that.

“The free clinic provides care and helps patients get well. But I was surprised to learn how it helps students get well, too. After working so hard studying all week, they get to go somewhere every Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and help take care of people. For them, it’s just wellness magic.”

‘The humanity of these patients’

For Dodd, wellness means being able to walk through clinic every Saturday and have patients call out to him by name. Like “Cheers” with exam stools instead of bar stools.

“It’s nice to know your neighbors,” Dodd said, “and they know you in a way that is meaningful. They trust that you are there to help.”

From its beginning, the clinic’s founder wanted it to help students, too. “I wanted them to be able to hear the stories of the marginalized and underserved patients and to learn to treat them with dignity,” Olutade said. “I wanted them to see the humanity of these patients.

“Also, I wanted them to see and understand how a medical practice runs. Medical care is costly. If you don’t have insurance, you may not get any care.  I wanted students to learn why patients may not take their medicine. Why they don’t always do what you ask them to do.

“And I wanted students to learn how to work together. To get the care to the patients who need it. Medical students were the largest group at UMMC, but my hope was that other students would join them.”

That has happened. Students from most of the UMMC schools are part of the free clinic now. Around 1,000 worked in or for the clinic in 2021. Medical students make up more than half, with about 16 percent coming from the dental school. But trainees from all other UMMC campus schools have also contributed – graduate studies, health related professions, nursing, pharmacy, and population health.

Today, patients can tap into medical specialty services as well, at certain times of the month or year: psychiatry, dermatology, radiology, gynecology, ultrasound.

Pre-med students are also volunteering at the clinic, primarily as members of the JFC Health Ambassador Program, which has extended the clinic’s education mission to college students, with chapters at Ole Miss, Alcorn State, Jackson State, Mississippi College, Mississippi State, Tougaloo College and the University of Southern Mississippi.

At least one of Olutade’s hopes has not come to pass, though: her desire to see widespread teamwork among clinics similar to the one she started. “We haven’t fully realized that,” she said.

Still, the students now running the Jackson Free Clinic have multiplied its impact as if it were several clinics in one. “They’re not just waiting for people to come to us; the students are going to them,” Olutade said.

Working with advocacy groups, the volunteers administered COVID vaccine to more than 1,600 Hispanic Mississippians in 2021, while screening 650 during 43 events.

“They’re taking care of people who don’t speak English, offering OB-GYN care, expanding dental care, educating patients,” Tullos said.

“They’re on the front lines of giving the COVID vaccine, and doing all that and more for those patients who have nothing, but who know they do have that clinic. Seeing people willing to deliver that level of care without any kind of monetary incentive is inspiring.”

Today, Olutade is no longer the medical director; that is now the job of Dr. Thais Tonore Walden of Jackson, a former professor of family medicine at UMMC. But Olutade is still there, as an advisor and volunteer.

Like Tullos, she is moved by the students, and also by the students’ parents, the UMMC faculty and department leaders, physicians outside the Medical Center and others who have joined in.

“I am very thankful that this project has taken root and grown because of the good hearts of the people of Mississippi,” Olutade said. “Without the whole community of generous hearts, this would not have been possible.”


 

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Donna Ladd knows magic. She made Kingfish disappear. Poof.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I imagine like all things it was once a shining light in the darkness and one can still see a positive. Still, can't help but think that the reason there is a nursing shortage around here is directly related to that over run mad house. And yes, it is a over run madhouse. It's no secret. After a tour thru there.......amazed anyone stays around. There was a Family Guy episode.....

Anonymous said...

"Donna Ladd knows magic. She made Kingfish disappear. Poof"

How so? He still gets more traffic than the JFP.

Anonymous said...

@2:57 PM
She banned him from her website.
Unlike yourself, I don’t check to see who generates more traffic.
Ladd is respected, earned journalistic accolades, awards. Authored critically-acclaimed works.
Kingfish isn’t even him his real name.

Anonymous said...

He still gets more traffic than the JFP.

By a large margin.

[AND] Kingfish didn't have a print edition go belly up.

Anonymous said...

Did 2:27 just literally call Donner Kay a witch?

I've seen her make logic disappear on occasion, but I would not call her a wizard, per se.

Anonymous said...

I remember as a little kid going to this place with my mother because she refused to use my Dads insurance on us kids. Like my mother, the place was filled to the rim with folks who weren't even sick or could have stayed home and took an aspirin......those folks really do work their asses off. Even then.

Anonymous said...

Kinda strange how so many lefties have shown up on this blog.... but hey, it's a free country. Still - MAN do they sound like young idiots with no life experience to know any better.

Anonymous said...

The Jackson Free Clinic also has a very active dental clinic run by UMMC dental students. Treatment is performed by fourth year dental students under supervision from UMMC volunteer faculty in a recently renovated building funded by donations through the hardwork and efforts of some former and present dental students.

Anonymous said...

@4:31 PM
“Kinda strange how...”

Hm. Kinda but not really? Say it with your chest.

Anonymous said...

@3:29 PM
“Kingfish didn't have a print edition.”

The difference between a blog and print edition is like the difference between high school and the league. Ladd made it to the league. Meanwhile you and Kingfish are bragging about the amount of people who showed up to your varsity game.
Like, anyone can play high school sports. Do you know how many people have blogs? Blogging is dead. The only reason Kingfish has any traffic is because 1) Racists need somewhere to rant 2) He can’t begin nor copy and paste into his own print edition 3) Blogger is free. Lol.

Ladd is RESPECTED. She’s earned her bars and stripes in journalism.

Anonymous said...

4:05 PM
⬜️ Please prove you’re not a robot

Anonymous said...

February 23, 2022 at 10:18 PM = Troll

Anonymous said...

@10:12pm Good grief, you confirm what was said by 4:31pm - lefties always seem to posture with some threat of physical violence for some reason. Conservatives talk to one another about varying positions, but rarely "riot" since they rely on reason and emotional stability to determine the facts. Once name-calling or threats are referenced, you've lost the debate.

Anonymous said...

How wonderfully sophomoric that Donna Ladd's supporters feel compelled, driven really, to come over here to praise her.

Anonymous said...

While early visions of the free clinic were that it would result in turning some things around, would offer a 'hand UP' and might improve lives to the point of personal and family betterment and advancement.

None of that has happened.


As for this: "Ladd is respected, earned journalistic accolades, awards. Authored critically-acclaimed works." Consider the source of any such accolades and awards. Hell, the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce awarded Ole Miss a national Football championship back in the sixties! The trophy case, in that regard, is still empty; however, there's probably a proclamation somewhere in a desk drawer.

Anonymous said...

“Consider the source.”

Don’t be so hard on Kingfish, he can’t help but act the way he does. I mean, you know how it is after one creates a blog. He or she believes the entire world is sitting around anticipating your first post. Then, once submitted, you swear you’re on your way to being the next John Grisham. All the while the majority of your blog traffic comes from foreign people in Hong Kong typing “king fish” when all they were trying to do is order crab legs.

My Boy Lollypop.. said...

'Critically acclaimed works'? Holy haha. Roll up them britches laigs. Tom Head has arrived in his madras shorts and is out by the pool.

Anonymous said...

February 23, 2022 at 10:18 PM

You so funny..........the only people who know Ladd here and anywhere else are the "walking woke" who love to shoot themselves in the foot when people like Biden and Kamala stumble & bumble around at news conferences.

I mean I never heard of Ladd till I ran across JJ and I had to go "Goggle" her a couple of years ago, but then again I don't subscribe the typical blue voter of "Tell me who to vote for, but first pay me mo"!!!!!



Recent Comments

Search Jackson Jambalaya

Subscribe to JJ's Youtube channel

Archives

Trollfest '09

Trollfest '07 was such a success that Jackson Jambalaya will once again host Trollfest '09. Catch this great event which will leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Othor Cain and his band, The Black Power Structure headline the night while Sonjay Poontang returns for an encore performance. Former Frank Melton bodyguard Marcus Wright makes his premier appearance at Trollfest singing "I'm a Sweet Transvestite" from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Kamikaze will sing his new hit, “How I sold out to da Man.” Robbie Bell again performs: “Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be Bells” and “Any friend of Ed Peters is a friend of mine”. After the show, Ms. Bell will autograph copies of her mug shot photos. In a salute to “Dancing with the Stars”, Ms. Bell and Hinds County District Attorney Robert Smith will dance the Wango Tango.

Wrestling returns, except this time it will be a Battle Royal with Othor Cain, Ben Allen, Kim Wade, Haley Fisackerly, Alan Lange, and “Big Cat” Donna Ladd all in the ring at the same time. The Battle Royal will be in a steel cage, no time limit, no referee, and the losers must leave town. Marshand Crisler will be the honorary referee (as it gives him a title without actually having to do anything).


Meet KIM Waaaaaade at the Entergy Tent. For five pesos, Kim will sell you a chance to win a deed to a crack house on Ridgeway Street stuffed in the Howard Industries pinata. Don't worry if the pinata is beaten to shreds, as Mr. Wade has Jose, Emmanuel, and Carlos, all illegal immigrants, available as replacements for the it. Upon leaving the Entergy tent, fig leaves will be available in case Entergy literally takes everything you have as part of its Trollfest ticket price adjustment charge.

Donna Ladd of The Jackson Free Press will give several classes on learning how to write. Smearing, writing without factchecking, and reporting only one side of a story will be covered. A donation to pay their taxes will be accepted and she will be signing copies of their former federal tax liens. Ms. Ladd will give a dramatic reading of her two award-winning essays (They received The Jackson Free Press "Best Of" awards.) "Why everything is always about me" and "Why I cover murders better than anyone else in Jackson".

In the spirit of helping those who are less fortunate, Trollfest '09 adopts a cause for which a portion of the proceeds and donations will be donated: Keeping Frank Melton in his home. The “Keep Frank Melton From Being Homeless” booth will sell chances for five dollars to pin the tail on the jackass. John Reeves has graciously volunteered to be the jackass for this honorable excursion into saving Frank's ass. What's an ass between two friends after all? If Mr. Reeves is unable to um, perform, Speaker Billy McCoy has also volunteered as when the word “jackass” was mentioned he immediately ran as fast as he could to sign up.


In order to help clean up the legal profession, Adam Kilgore of the Mississippi Bar will be giving away free, round-trip plane tickets to the North Pole where they keep their bar complaint forms (which are NOT available online). If you don't want to go to the North Pole, you can enjoy Brant Brantley's (of the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance) free guided tours of the quicksand field over by High Street where all complaints against judges disappear. If for some reason you are unable to control yourself, never fear; Judge Houston Patton will operate his jail where no lawyers are needed or allowed as you just sit there for minutes... hours.... months...years until he decides he is tired of you sitting in his jail. Do not think Judge Patton is a bad judge however as he plans to serve free Mad Dog 20/20 to all inmates.

Trollfest '09 is a pet-friendly event as well. Feel free to bring your dog with you and do not worry if your pet gets hungry, as employees of the Jackson Zoo will be on hand to provide some of their animals as food when it gets to be feeding time for your little loved one.

Relax at the Fox News Tent. Since there are only three blonde reporters in Jackson (being blonde is a requirement for working at Fox News), Megan and Kathryn from WAPT and Wendy from WLBT will be on loan to Fox. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both and a torn-up Obama yard sign will entitle you to free drinks served by Megan, Wendy, and Kathryn. Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required. Just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '09 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.


Note: Security provided by INS.

Trollfest '07

Jackson Jambalaya is the home of Trollfest '07. Catch this great event which promises to leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Sonjay Poontang and his band headline the night with a special steel cage, no time limit "loser must leave town" bout between Alan Lange and "Big Cat"Donna Ladd following afterwards. Kamikaze will perform his new song F*** Bush, he's still a _____. Did I mention there was no referee? Dr. Heddy Matthias and Lori Gregory will face off in the undercard dueling with dangling participles and other um, devices. Robbie Bell will perform Her two latest songs: My Best Friends are in the Media and Mama's, Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be George Bell. Sid Salter of The Clarion-Ledger will host "Pin the Tail on the Trial Lawyer", sponsored by State Farm.

There will be a hugging booth where in exchange for your young son, Frank Melton will give you a loooong hug. Trollfest will have a dunking booth where Muhammed the terrorist will curse you to Allah as you try to hit a target that will drop him into a vat of pig grease. However, in the true spirit of Separate But Equal, Don Imus and someone from NE Jackson will also sit in the dunking booth for an equal amount of time. Tom Head will give a reading for two hours on why he can't figure out who the hell he is. Cliff Cargill will give lessons with his .80 caliber desert eagle, using Frank Melton photos as targets. Tackleberry will be on hand for an autograph session. KIM Waaaaaade will be passing out free titles and deeds to crackhouses formerly owned by The Wood Street Players.

If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.

Note: Security provided by INS
.