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New Detroit Medical Clinic to Open in Spring
DETROIT, MI (January 2, 2002) - A place once used to help bury the dead will soon help better the lives of people living in a Detroit neighborhood, thanks to the work of a Covenant doctor and a trio of Covenant churches.
Remodeling will begin later this month on property formerly used as a funeral home that was purchased December 28 by Covenant Community Care, Inc., a 501c3 nonprofit medical clinic. The medical center will serve patients living in and around Messiah Church, a Covenant congregation. The facility is expected to be ready for use this spring, according to Dr. Kathy Kleinert, the clinic's medical director. Messiah Church, which recently joined the Evangelical Covenant Church, is located in a neighborhood where an estimated 15,000 people are in need of medical care, according to Kleinert.
The first floor of the two-story, 7,500-square-foot building will house the clinic, which will be headed by Yvonne Berry, a full-time physician. Kleinert will use the second floor of the facility for a private practice that will help pay the clinic's expenses. She is already seeing some 30 patients at another location and said that a fully operational facility could serve 600 to 800 people monthly.
Messiah Church, the Evangelical Covenant Church of Dearborn and Faith Covenant Church in Farmington Hills (Kleinert's home church) have supported the fledgling clinic from the start. The clinic's board includes members from all three congregations, which have donated many hours in volunteer assistance.
Numerous closures of area hospitals and clinics have made it more difficult for the poor to find adequate medical care near Messiah Church, prompting Kleinert and Messiah Church pastor Bob Hoey to commit to the project. Covenant Community Care intends to charge about $10 for regular medical visits and offer dental care and some pharmaceutical services for those with no medical insurance working in low-paying jobs, Hoey says.
"When people have physical problems, it's very hard for them to listen to a spiritual message," said Kleinert, who completed her undergraduate education at Wayne State University in Detroit and earned her doctorate from Michigan State University in Lansing. "As our culture continues to break apart, people are looking for someone to bring them a sense of community, and a lot of doctors aren't doing that," Kleinert said. "We want this to be a safe place where they know someone is going to listen to them."
An open house is scheduled January 6 at the facility, 559 W. Grand Boulevard in Detroit. For more information about Covenant Community Care, contact Kleinert by telephone at 248-477-2600 or by email at kmomdo@aol.com.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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