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Starting a Medical Clinic in NY: How to Run an Obstacle Course Without Leaving Home

admin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 03:10:46 +0000

A little over a year ago, the Brooklyn Jubilee board came to me and said “we need to start a medical clinic.” The reasons were simple and logical. (1) There’s clearly a need for medical services in the community. No, recent healthcare reform has not changed that, and I’ll blog on that topic more another day. (2) As an organization, our model has been to use the resources of our community to serve those in need in Brooklyn. One of those great resources is the medical professional in our churches and our larger network. We could take those professionals, and in the same way we’ve deployed lawyers and other volunteers to serve with their legal skills, we can send out the medical professionals to serve with their medical skills. Makes sense to me. And of course, the entire endeavor demonstrates the love of Christ in a concrete way to a community in need.

Over the course of the last year, I’ve visited all of the Christian medical programs that I knew of in NYC, and met the directors of other programs in the state. I’ve gathered a lot of inspiration, and wisdom from these brothers and sisters.

So why don’t we have a clinic yet? One major issue in front of us is the regulatory hurdles in front of us. In New York State, clinics must satisfy the same certification requirements that a major hospital must satisfy to open a free clinic. Think about that for a moment. While in other states, a group of well-meaning physicians can simply hang up a shingle (perhaps first going through the relatively easy and inexpensive process of forming a non-profit organization, perhaps not), in New York, you must have the capacity to survive a one to two-year process, with the necessary help of a consultant , at a cost of roughly $30-35,000, with no guarantee that the state will approve your program.

So how are there other programs operating in the state? Many operate in a family practice model, which means there’s one brave doctor who operates the clinic as, essentially, a satellite office of his practice, giving free services at that site to anyone who comes. This avoids the problem of the Article 28 process, but presents new challenges, like providing liability coverage for volunteers, and getting tax exemption for donations to the clinic’s work.

We don’t yet have an answer to the problem. But God is providing advocates and friends to our cause to encourage us in our efforts. Many people would like to see us succeed, even if it’s not clear how we will. I’m not worried. I’m convinced that if God wants this medical ministry to happen, He will bring all the resources we need and more. I’ll share more about what He’s done for us so far in future posts.

Starting Again

admin — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 13:26:49 +0000

After a long hiatus from blogging, I’m (Sandhya) trying to get back to posting regularly. Inhibited by the need to present neat stories, with a beginning, middle, and triumphant end, I just didn’t post at all. Community service is messy, and the stories do not end neatly. Encouraged by my friend Michelle to write the stories as they unfold, I will start again. The stories will hopefully reveal more of the day-to-day struggle, both the victories and losses, for a tiny non-profit attempting to serve God by serving our community.

~Sandhya

The Brooklyn Jubilee Blog

brooklynjubilee — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:19:16 +0000

Since we first began the Brooklyn Jubilee ministry in 2006, it was clear that many of us are concerned about social and economic justice, but few feel equipped to engage with the problems that surround us and have an impact on them. Christians in the Church are (hopefully) asked to wrestle with Biblical call to serve the poor, but struggle to find meaningful ways to get involved.

This blog will aim to encourage and challenge us with thoughts from the Bible on questions of social justice, stories from of the ministry of Brooklyn Jubilee, and other issues affecting the life of low-income New Yorkers. We hope you’ll join in the discussion and help us develop an active network of supporters, advocates, and others with food for thought on complex and critical issues.