`The quality of mercy is not strained`: Mercy Care brings healing to

IN-DEPTH
PAGE 10
NOVEMBER 27, 2014 | THE GEORGIA BULLETIN
‘The quality of mercy is not strained’:
Mercy Care brings healing to those in need
NEW MERCY CARE PROJECTS
“The quality of mercy is not strained;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.”
Mercy Care North Expansion
■■A new clinic to serve 5,500 patients annually in DeKalb &
Gwinnett counties.
■■Services include optometry, ultrasound, radiology and integrated behavioral health.
William Shakespeare
“The Merchant of Venice,” Act IV, Scene I
BY ANDREW NELSON
[email protected]
ATLANTA—With the ambition
of enlarging its health care safety
net, Atlanta’s Mercy Care is having
to reintroduce itself to the metro
community. Once an offshoot of
Saint Joseph’s Hospital, the nonprofit now stands on its own.
“We have been the best-kept
secret,” said Tom Andrews, the
president of Mercy Care. “We
don’t want to be the best-kept
secret, and we need community
support.”
Its medical staff of nearly 30
doctors and nurses on staff, along
with some 200 volunteers, work in
nine clinics around metro Atlanta,
serving in struggling neighborhoods. Its five large mobile vans
become medical clinics when they
park outside homeless shelters,
offering primary medical care to
adults and children, along with
dental care and prescriptions.
Street medicine teams seek out
hard-to-reach people living on the
streets and under bridges.
Two out of three patients in
2013 served by Mercy Care staff
were homeless, as the organization
continues in the mission of the
Sisters of Mercy of caring for the
needy.
Sisters started Atlanta’s
first hospital
The pioneering Sisters of Mercy
arrived in Atlanta 15 years after the
Civil War. The religious commu-
■■A community health education center to be used by Mercy
Care, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and other partners.
nity created something new in
the bustling commercial center,
its first hospital. The sisters’ 1880
mission expanded in 1900 when
a school of nursing began. The
ministry, known as Saint Joseph’s
Infirmary, began on Baker Street
in downtown Atlanta and moved
to a larger location on Courtland
Street.
However, as the city population
shifted to the suburbs in the 1960s
and 1970s, the hospital also moved.
It opened a 13-acre campus on the
northern edge of Atlanta in the late
1970s.
But teams of nurses, doctors,
sisters, and other volunteers soon
returned to downtown Atlanta to
care for the poor. Vans served as
clinics to treat people on the street
and in homeless shelters. Medical
supplies were carried in tackle
boxes.
In 1985, Saint Joseph’s Mercy
Care Services was incorporated
to continue the Sisters of Mercy’s
mission to care for the indigent. A
downtown Atlanta clinic opened in
2001 on Decatur Street to be closer
to the poor patients. The hospital
for years served as a benefactor in
support of this outreach.
However, that has changed. In
response to changes in health care,
Saint Joseph’s Hospital became
part of Emory Healthcare in 2012
with a joint operating company.
Mercy Care Services and Saint
Joseph’s Mercy Foundation were
not part of the new entity.
As it moves from a hospital charity to a community charity, Mercy
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Custom-made Rosaries,
Lassos and Chaplets
Diane Trum,
Designer
770-833-6848
[email protected]
www.stjohnsrosaries.com
■■Need: $12 million
Care no longer relies on $5 million
in hospital contributions.
Its director of mission, Mercy
Sister Angela Ebberwein, the vice
president of mission, called the
relationship between Mercy Care
and the hospital now as that of a
“distant cousin.”
Mercy Care renamed itself this
year. People mistakenly thought it
was still supported by the hospital
though the relationship changed
in 2012. Its new name no longer
includes the hospital, but instead
Mercy Care calls itself “a legacy”
of Saint Joseph’s Hospital. It also
revised its logo, reimaging itself as
two hands embracing a heart with
a cross in the middle, a reflection
of the Sisters of Mercy logo.
A right to access health care
Andrews has a long history with
the charity, working first for Saint
Joseph’s Hospital and then taking
the helm of Mercy Care in 2003.
His background is in allied health,
the field in which he earned a
degree from Ohio State University, followed by five years as the
director of managed care for Saint
Joseph’s Hospital.
Large black and white photos
decorate his office. One shows
Anglican Archbishop Desmond
Tutu of South Africa visiting
Mercy Care, and another shows
Mercy Care workers and volunteers grabbing medical supplies in
tackle boxes out of a van to serve
patients.
Andrews, 58, attends Immaculate Heart of Mary Church,
Atlanta. He said he is an example
of the “Francis effect,” returning
to the church as he has seen its
leaders “talking about the right
issues now.”
Health care for the poor in
Georgia gets a D-minus grade,
said Andrews.
“We are always in the upper 40
(of 50 states) as it relates to low
birth weight, life expectancy,”
he said, adding the federal-state
health care program to serve the
Recuperative Care for Women
■■To serve homeless women discharged from the hospital, whose
recuperation would be hindered by returning to a shelter.
■■Based at the City of Refuge shelter.
■■Funds needed to buy furniture and equipment as well as for
general operations.
■■Need: $350,000
Electronic Medical Record Update
■■To better track medical records so patients’ care can be coordinated across acute-care facilities, specialty providers, and community resources.
■■To link Mercy Care patients with most Atlanta hospitals so medical staff can better access records.
■■Patient tracking support allows for preventive health maintenance and chronic care management.
■■Need: $315,000
Source: Mercy Care
poor is difficult to access. “Everyone should have access to health
care. Georgia is among the worst
states having access to health
care,” he said. “You have to jump
through a lot of hoops.”
People fall through the cracks
and the mission of Mercy Care
is to care for those people, he
said. Indeed, the controversial
Affordable Care Act has allowed
Mercy Care to enlarge its services
to patients without insurance.
Nine out of 10 patients treated by
Mercy Care don’t have insurance,
and eight out of 10 live in poverty.
“I don’t think the Affordable
Care Act is perfect,” he said, but
“we are not talking about fixing
the problems. We’re still talking
about repealing it. You don’t hear
success stories.”
Mercy Care serves its patients
with ACA-funded grants worth
$800,000. It receives another $3
million from the federal government as a community health
center focused on care of the
homeless.
Two large grants paid for Mercy
Care to treat behavioral health
illnesses in all 14 of its clinics. The
treatment focuses on the root
cause of some patients’ illnesses
and can be a step in managing
other illnesses, from drug abuse
to anxiety. Together, these treatments can help the patients stabilize their lives and lead to a life off
the streets, Andrews said.
Mercy Care relies on its
foundation, private donors, and
government grants to fund its
programs. However, Andrews said
the organization still has a shortfall covering its annual operating
expenses of between $5 and $6
million. Less than 8 percent of
Mercy Care’s $12 million annual
budget comes from net patient
revenue.
Future goals to serve
more people
There are an estimated
493,000 people without health
insurance in DeKalb, Fulton, and
Gwinnett counties, according to
the 2013 American Community
Survey. Mercy Care is moving forward with projects to serve them.
One project is to enlarge Mercy
Care North, an existing clinic in
IN-DEPTH
NOVEMBER 27, 2014 | THE GEORGIA BULLETIN
PAGE 11
PHOTO BY MICHAEL ALEXANDER
Tom Andrews, president and CEO of Mercy Care, is charting the
nonprofit’s new course since its operational and structural change
nearly three years ago. Mercy Care is moving away from a hospital
based health care system to a community-based one, and Andrews
aims to get the word out to the public. Andrews is also a member of
Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Atlanta.
Chamblee that is “busting at the
seams,” Andrews said.
Medical staff at the Chamblee
clinic saw 9,747 patients in 2013,
nearly a third of them Hispanic,
and 2,500 of them at or below 100
percent of the federal poverty
level. For a family of four, that is
an annual income of $29,820.
Mercy Care’s goal is to raise
$12 million to build a new clinic,
located near public transit, with
medical, dental and mental health
services focused on the elderly
and women. The program will
expand services for children
through a partnership with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
A second project is to open
a place for women to recover
from surgery, instead of being
discharged to the street. It will
mirror the seven-year project that
has opened a rehabilitation center
for men.
This project—with its price
tag of $350,000—is to be hosted
by the City of Refuge, a ministry
PHOTO BY MICHAEL ALEXANDER
The Mercy Care mobile medical coach is parked in front of the Atlanta Mission on Lovejoy Street,
between Ivan Allen Boulevard and Mills Street. Atlanta Mission provides various services to the city’s
homeless men, women and children, and since the mid-1980s the Mercy Care mobile clinic has been seeing patients there. Today they stop by Atlanta Mission every Monday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
to women and families in crisis.
Its goal is to reduce the need for
costly emergency room visits by
women recovering from surgery
and to give support to them that
could lead to stable housing and
other assistance.
“Most Catholics, and Christians, resonate with the concept
of what it is to show mercy,” said
Andrews. Of those who make up
Mercy Care, Andrews said, “I
think we are the living example of
people who show mercy every day,
always with compassion, without
regard to the status of the person.
For me, we are the embodiment
of the Good Samaritan.”
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NOVEMBER 27, 2014 | THE GEORGIA BULLETIN
Jail cells transformed into Mercy units
where ill homeless men recover
BY NICHOLE GOLDEN
[email protected]
HOW TO HELP
ATLANTA—In the fall of 2012,
Seth Weingarten was staying at
the night shelter of the Atlanta
Mission.
A diabetic, Weingarten was
running out of the medicines he
needed. During the day, he would
sit along Luckie Street in downtown Atlanta.
“I didn’t feel lucky,” quipped
Weingarten. “At the time my sugar
was out of control. I was carrying
everything on my shoulders.”
Then Mercy Care entered Weingarten’s life.
As the Connecticut native’s
health declined, an Atlanta Mission staff member referred him
to Mercy Care’s recuperative care
unit.
The program, housed in the
Gateway Center on Pryor Street in
Atlanta, opened in 2010 and fills
a critical gap in care for medically
fragile homeless men. These men
are sometimes outpatients or are
ready to be discharged from hospital stays. Apart from this program,
they have no place to go to recover.
“I was in and out of the hospital,” said Weingarten. “It was a
great program. They help you get
on your feet.”
To support the Mercy Care
Foundation through a direct
donation or to learn more
about volunteering, visit
www.mercyatlanta.org.
At Mercy Care, Weingarten
had a place to plug in his CPAP
machine for sleep apnea and
better monitor his cholesterol
and hypertension, associated with
diabetes.
Physical disabilities and dyslexia had contributed to Weingarten
being unable to find enough work.
“I’d been in and out of shelters for five to seven years,” he
explained.
Through Mercy Care and its
resources, Weingarten was able
to obtain permanent housing at
Welcome House in Atlanta.
As a graduate of the recuperative care program, Weingarten
comes back to volunteer by helping set up for classes or encouraging current clients.
Having worked in Connecticut
as a janitor and driver, Weingarten
says he is still willing to work to
help others.
“Poverty … that’s a big word,” he
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PHOTO BY MICHAEL ALEXANDER
Marshall Kendrick sits in his 7-foot by 11-foot room at Gateway Center, the former Atlanta City Jail.
After witnessing the murder of his mother by another relative, Kendrick began living on the streets
where he abused drugs and alcohol. Eventually he ended up at Grady Hospital with kidney failure, and
the hospital referred him to Mercy Care’s recuperative care program in mid-November.
said. “I don’t choose this.”
On a mid-November morning,
Weingarten sat at a table covered
with construction paper and pictures cut out of magazines. He was
joining current Mercy Care clients
in an art therapy class.
“I just became an uncle the third
time around,” he said. “I’m making
a card for my little niece.”
For the first time in years,
Weingarten was set to visit family
for Thanksgiving. “I’m leaving on
the Greyhound,” he said. In early
December, Weingarten will come
back to Atlanta where he has a
permanent roof over his head.
“I have my own room. That
started here from Mercy Care,” he
said. “I’m a thousand times better
than I was.”
A path out of homelessness
Dana Washington is Mercy
Care’s recuperative care coordinator and a registered nurse.
Washington, a former oncology
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nurse, came to work at Mercy Care
about a year ago.
“This is my passion. I’ve done
this type of work before,” she said.
The recuperative care unit has
19 beds. The men receive breakfast, a sack lunch and hot meal in
the evenings.
The Gateway Center, once the
Atlanta City Jail, is a central location for many agencies serving the
homeless. Mercy Care also operates a health clinic and dispensary
NOVEMBER 27, 2014 | THE GEORGIA BULLETIN
IN-DEPTH
PAGE 13
PHOTO BY MICHAEL ALEXANDER
Registered nurse Dana Washington is the recuperative care coordinator for Mercy Care at Gateway Center. The center provides
programs and services for the homeless so they can eliminate their
homeless status. Mercy Care is present to meet the medical and
behavioral health services of the clients.
HOMELESS
SPOTLIGHT
■■The Robert L. Mason Jr.
Candlelight Memorial Vigil
will be held Thursday, Dec.
18, at 5:30 p.m. at the Mercy
Care Clinic, located at 424
Decatur St., Atlanta. The vigil
recognizes those in Atlanta
who died unsheltered during
the past year. All are welcome
to attend.
■■Since 2006, people from
local service agencies,
churches, the state legislature, city government and
members of the community
have gathered at dusk for a
time of remembrance on the
first day of winter. The event
is held in collaboration with
National Coalition for the
Homeless and the National
Health Care for the Homeless
Council.
there. Mercy Care runs eight other
fixed clinic locations throughout
Atlanta and offers mobile health
care services at five sites.
Men staying in the recuperative
care unit sleep in rooms that were
jail cells. Curtains are used for
privacy instead of the heavy cell
doors. Rooms that once imprisoned inmates now are the first
step in having a more positive life.
Recuperative care residents
stay between 35 to 40 days.
While there, they explore obstacles to working or having
stable housing, including mental
health, substance abuse or family
relationships that need repair.
For a majority, this is a path out of
homelessness.
“We get at least 65 to 68 percent
housed or reunited with family,”
said Washington.
While there, the men participate in mandatory group support sessions led by a resource
specialist.
“That’s one of their agreements,” explained Washington.
Most of the clients are recently
discharged from Grady, Saint
Joseph’s or Piedmont hospitals.
“They need time to rest,” said
Washington.
When a medically fragile person
tries to recover on the streets, they
often wind up back in the hospital.
The recuperative care program
prevents additional hospital stays
and has cost benefits to the health
care system.
“We’ve saved millions of dollars,” said Washington.
The staff works 12-hour shifts.
The Gateway Center personnel
and a “house man” from the unit
supervise overnight. The men
look out for one another, particularly for those with fragile mental
health.
Washington said clients
appreciate someone listening to
them and the assistance in getting
clothing and preparing for job
interviews.
“Sometimes they just need
some personal, one-on-one time,”
PHOTO BY MICHAEL ALEXANDER
(Counterclockwise, foreground) Liza Kravets, a senior nursing student at Emory University, Atlanta,
participates in the Wednesday morning therapeutic art session with Gateway Center residents Perry
Middleton and Gyasi Phillips. Mercy Care has a clinic on the premises for treating the homeless men
and women.
said Washington.
The men also learn how to give
back to others. Recent volunteer efforts included assembling
hygiene kits at the Mercy Care
Decatur Street Clinic for distribution to the homeless.
While there are serious issues to
be addressed, the men also enjoy
social activities. “We plan something fun for them once a month,”
said Washington. Organizing
picnics and parties helps the men
learn how to budget.
Spiritual programs, led by a
Catholic volunteer, are held each
Monday. Washington said many of
the men crave this type of support.
“We’re made like that,” said
Washington about the clients’
spiritual hunger. “Even at their
worst, they have hope.”
Washington believes Mercy
Care is a good organization in that
it provides the “whole gamut” of
services.
Those who succeed help others
The Mercy Care Foundation,
the fundraising arm of the health
ministry, recently announced
major campaigns to expand or
improve on their programs, including launching a recuperative
care unit for women and building
a Mercy Care North center to
serve primarily women, children
and the elderly. While Mercy Care
currently leases medical practice
space on the north side, the new
Chamblee property will be more
accessible to public transportation and offer increased space for
delivery of care. The project is
estimated to cost $12 million.
“In January we will close on the
property,” said Bonnie Hardage,
Mercy Care Foundation president.
The recuperative care clinic for
women is to be located at City of
Refuge in Atlanta, which would
share costs. Mercy Care’s fundraising goal for purchase of furniture, fixtures, and unit equipment,
patient assistance and staff salary
at the women’s unit is $350,000.
“I see a growing need,” said
Washington about impoverished
women.
Dana Thompson is the resource
specialist for the current recuperative care unit.
“Resource specialist is basically
case management,” explained
Mercy, Page 14
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NOVEMBER 27, 2014 | THE GEORGIA BULLETIN
“When they leave
out of here, we do
not want them to
return to chronic
homelessness.”
MERCY
From Page 13
Thompson.
Often the clients coming to
recover don’t have valid identification or other necessary documents.
Thompson does an initial
assessment of the person’s mental
health, financial state, and family
concerns with one clear objective
in mind.
“When they leave out of here,
we do not want them to return to
chronic homelessness,” he said.
Whether room at a shelter is
located, or someone reconnects
with family, or locates transitional housing, Thompson says that
follow-up continues with program
graduates for 120 days.
While staying on the unit, the
men can begin substance abuse or
mental health counseling.
Thompson enjoys his work and
calls it payment enough to be able
to show those who struggle a better
way.
The ones who succeed return to
help motivate others. “They come
back and they shake their keys,”
said Thompson, of the symbol of a
place to call home. “They see hope
again.”
Thompson leads group programs on topics ranging from
personal growth, stress, coping and
taking care of one’s self. Nursing
students also come to work with
the men. It’s difficult for the men
when it’s time to leave. “They do
not want to go. We really show true
concern,” he said.
Native Atlantan Horace Isom,
Dana Thompson
PHOTO BY MICHAEL ALEXANDER
Seth Weingarten participates in the Wednesday morning therapeutic art session at Gateway Center,
Atlanta. Weingarten, a Connecticut native who struggled with dyslexia and a host of other health
issues, was in and out of shelters for about seven years before coming to Mercy Care’s recuperative care
program in the fall of 2012.
two weeks into his recovery from
serious digestive problems, said
Mercy Care is an excellent program.
“It’s a big plus,” said Isom. He
said the stress of sleeping in the
elements caused his health problems.
“I had lost a job in 2011,” said
Isom about being homeless.
He isn’t sure what’s next, but
Isom does know that the recuperative care staff will help him figure
that out.
‘I have a plan now’
Marshall Kendrick, who goes
by his last name, thumbs through
a Southern Living magazine with
a homemade blueberry pie on the
cover.
“It beats being out on the street
laying flat on the ground,” he said
about his recent admission to the
recuperative care unit.
Kendrick was hospitalized due
to breathing and heart problems
and kidney failure. He knows “all
the drinking and drugging” was
to blame.
The personal trauma of witnessing the murder of a loved
one led to homelessness and
substance abuse for the Atlanta
native.
“I was out for a while. My
nephew had killed my mom,” said
Kendrick. “Grady turned me on to
this place.”
Now sober, and having survived
drinking, Kendrick is sure of what
to do.
“I have a plan now. Get me a
new life and work,” he said.
At 52 years old, Kendrick says
it’s time.
“I see it now. It shouldn’t have
been that way. I can think better,”
he said.
Relatives visited Kendrick in
the hospital and he is hoping to
reconnect with them. “I have a
family out there,” he said.
Mercy Care is “all about unmet
needs,” said Denise Garlow, the
program’s marketing manager.
Mercy Care offers dental and
vision care, HIV prevention
and primary care, a nighttime
street medicine program, and an
increased focus on behavioral
health needs of the homeless or
underserved.
Mercy Care no longer has a
direct connection with Saint
Joseph’s Hospital following its
2012 merger with Emory Healthcare and therefore raises funds
independently for its mission of
serving Atlanta’s poor.
In 2013, Mercy Care served
12,796 clinic patients and 92
percent of them were uninsured.
Eighty-three percent of the Mercy Care patients live at or below
the federal poverty line.
In keeping with the legacy of
the hospital founders, the Sisters
of Mercy, Mercy Care’s work will
be ongoing.
“It’s continuing and it’s growing,” said Hardage. “Our employees are angels on earth.”
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PAGE 15
Physician’s daughter
volunteers with mobile clinic
‘I need to give back
to the community’
BY ANDREW NELSON
[email protected]
Kiki Butgereit, 78, of Roswell,
and St. Brigid Church, Johns Creek,
volunteers with the Mercy Care clinic-on-wheels, which visits five sites in
metro Atlanta to offer health care to
the poor, homeless and underserved.
She answered questions about why
she serves in this way.
Q. How do you serve at Mercy
Care?
A. I do the intakes for our primary
care patients on the coach. First they
see a registration person; then they
come to me. Now we have laptops
and enter everything—current and
past health, family history and social
history—in electronic health records. PHOTO BY MICHAEL ALEXANDER
Dr. Luis Galvez grabs the patient’s information before entering
the examination room at the Mercy Care North Clinic, Atlanta, Nov. 11. Dr. Galvez, a board-certified physician in internal
medicine and gastroenterology with Atlanta Gastroenterology
Associates, has been a Mercy Care volunteer since 1993.
BY ANDREW NELSON
[email protected]
Luis Galvez, M.D., 58, has volunteered with Mercy Care for 20 years.
A physician at Emory Saint Joseph’s
Hospital, he lives in Sandy Springs
and attends Holy Spirit Church,
Atlanta. He spoke of the imperative
he feels as a physician to give back.
Q. How do you serve at Mercy
Care?
A. I provide medical care to patients who come to the Mercy Care
clinic. Right now, I am focused on
gastrointestinal problems.
Q. How long have you volunteered at Mercy Care and what
spurred you to get involved?
A. I always wanted to do this
Q. How long have you
volunteered at Mercy Care and
what spurred you to get involved?
A. When we moved to Atlanta,
all five of our children were out of
the house. The last one had just
started college. I had been noticing
how many homeless people there
seemed to be both in Birmingham
and here. When I saw an article and
picture in the paper about Mercy
Mobile, I knew that was how I wanted to volunteer. My father was a physician in
Birmingham, and when I was a kid
sometimes I rode with him when he
made house calls. He treated a lot of
poor people for free, and even as a
kid I was appalled at the houses they
lived in, even though I always stayed
in the car. I realized how lucky I was
at an early age. when I finished medical school. I
thought and feel my capabilities,
training and education are a gift
from God. I need to give this back to
the community, to people in need,
and God.
Q. What gives you joy about
serving with Mercy Care?
A. Knowing that people have
access to something they deserve,
medical care. And they learn how to
take care of themselves.
Q. How has volunteering at
Mercy Care shaped you?
A. It makes me feel lucky and
humble and grateful for what I have
received, all from God.
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PHOTO BY MICHAEL ALEXANDER
Kiki Butgereit works with an Atlanta Mission resident from inside
her cubby on the Mercy Care mobile clinic, Nov. 13. Butgereit, a
native of Birmingham, Ala., and a parishioner at St. Brigid Church,
Johns Creek, has been a Mercy Care volunteer since 1992.
When I called Saint Joseph’s
(Hospital) about volunteering, I
didn’t know to say Mercy Mobile,
and they kept directing me to “pink
lady” type stuff in the hospital. That
wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted
hands-on with patients in the street.
Before I could pursue it further, my
mother died in Birmingham, and I
was tied up for a few years with going back and forth over there. Finally I talked to a man in our then-parish, St. Andrew, who volunteered at
the hospital and he told me to call
Mercy Mobile. A lot of our patients
still refer to us as Mercy Mobile.
Q. How has volunteering at
Mercy Care shaped you?
A. The only thing I can say is that
contrary to the general public, a
group of strange men in hoodies
don’t bother me at all. It makes me,
and actually all of us, very happy
when a patient comes back to see us
and thanks us and tells us we made a
difference in their life. Then you just
pray that they can stay on that path.
Most people think folks are homeless
because they are lazy, addicted to
some substance or mentally ill. Not
so. There are countless reasons that
people are homeless. I’ve heard some
of the most unbelievable things that
you would never dream of.
I plan to keep volunteering way
into the future, unless something
unforeseen intervenes. I work with
a great team, and we all seem to
gel. We treat our patients with respect and kindness and humor, and
we laugh a lot.
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