The United Methodist Church’s General Board of Global Ministries is exploring a partnership with Volunteers in Medicine, a nonprofit organization that has helped to create 61 community-based and volunteer-staffed free medical clinics in the United States in an 11-year period.
The role of the mission agency will be to work with congregations and other community-based organizations to build incentive and capacity for the free clinics that are marked by a “culture of caring.” Many of the volunteer doctors, nurses, and technicians are retired.
Bishop May said that a pilot partnership clinic project will likely be in Texas, the state with the highest percentage of uninsured people—some 25.2 percent.
Volunteers in Medicine was founded in 1994 by Dr. Jack B. McConnell, the son of a Methodist pastor, after his own retirement. The first clinic was opened on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, serving uninsured persons, many African Americans, who work in the local tourist industries.
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See also: Ekklesia: US church urged to put justice in healthcare before charity.