Sisters give $10,000 to open door clinic
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Wednesday, December 31, 2008 1:25 PM CST
For the Herald
The Open Door Clinic of Chippewa Falls was recently awarded $10,000 from the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis, based in Springfield, Ill. St. Joseph’s Hospital, Chippewa Falls, is an affiliate of Hospital Sisters Health System, a ministry of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis.
Deb Bieging, MD, Coordinator of the Open Door Clinic was awarded the grant from the Sisters’ San Damiano Outreach Fund for the purchase of medications for the patients who come to the clinic.
“We find that many of our patients are aware of health problems, but they simply cannot afford the medication needed to treat them,” Bieging said. “We use generic drugs when appropriate and help patients take advantage of free medication through pharmaceutical programs. Nevertheless, medication costs account for almost half of our budget.”
The Open Door Clinic, held at First Presbyterian Church, helps poor and uninsured people by providing outpatient services caring for both acute and chronic diseases.
“It is truly a community effort,” Bieging said, “We receive significant support from area healthcare providers, the space we occupy is provided by the church and we have 80 active medical and non-medical volunteers.”
The clinic is open on Tuesday evenings and serves an average of 30 people each week.
The Hospital Sisters of St. Francis established the San Damiano Outreach Fund to provide grant money to support community ministries serving the poor and underserved. Grants are given to ministries that serve the economically poor and focus on the development of persons rather than on the purchase of equipment or buildings. Preference is given to projects located in a geographical area where the Hospital Sisters are presently serving. St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chippewa Falls is a ministry of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis.
“It has been a tradition for the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis to assist organizations such as the Open Door Clinic that work with those who are most in need,” said Sister Jomary Trstensky, OSF, Provincial Superior of the Hospital Sisters of St Francis. “It affirms our common mission of healing and creative ways of meeting the needs of the poor, women, children and minorities. Organizations such as the Open Door Clinic that work with those who are in most in need are crucial as more of our brothers and sisters struggle to make ends meet. We are pleased that our San Damiano Outreach grant will assist this worthwhile endeavor.”
Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS) is a multi-institutional healthcare system that owns and operates 13 hospitals — eight hospitals in Illinois and five hospitals in Wisconsin. HSHS is sponsored by the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis, an international, multi-cultural congregation of Franciscan Sisters.
The primary mission of the Hospital Sisters Health System is to provide a structure and the means whereby the Hospital Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis continue their healing mission in the Roman Catholic Church. Hospitals and other institutionally-based programs are the primary means of responding to those in need. Service is regarded as a ministry of healing which exemplifies the Gospel values of compassion, justice, and reverence for life throughout its continuum.
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