Medical ministry cares for poor

RALEIGH - Jose Vela scanned the waiting room walls that surrounded him, featuring translations of biblical scripture in English, Spanish, French and Korean.

"I haven't seen a doctor in a good while now," Vela said as he waited for his appointment.

"I don't have any other option."

Vela was waiting at Raleigh's Alliance Medical Ministry, an organization that strives to provide affordable health care to the working poor.

He works for a power-line company after emigrating from Mexico, and, like most of Alliance's patients, he doesn't make enough money to cover the exceedingly high costs of health care.

In its second year of operation, the medical center expects to serve 7,000 people like Vela before the year's end.

"Many of the people who come here have no other place to go," said Lilly Bunch, Alliance's director of development.

Alliance was founded by members of the First United Methodist Church in Cary. Jack Stone, one of its founding members, is a former employment director at UNC.

The clinic aims to provide primary medical care for acute conditions, such as sore throats and sprained ankles, along with chronic ailments such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

Intertwined with the physical care it provides is another strong component of Alliance's service: the support patients get from people of faith.

"Many of the people who come here have very, very strong faith," said Dr. Susan Weaver, the center's medical director. "Many of the patients will ask us to pray with them, and we'll pray with them."

Patients also have the option of receiving pastoral counseling twice a week. "We do believe that wellness is a continuum of spiritual and mental wellness as well as physical health," Weaver said.

Alliance's services are supported by a community effort that ranges from pharmaceutical companies donating prescription drugs to local construction contractors developing building plans.

This month, Alliance completed an expansion and renovation estimated at $45,000, but only paid $1,500 because of contributions from local businesses, individuals and congregations.

Alliance's operations are sustained by a paid staff that Bunch described as "really quite small." It includes 1 1/2 full-time physicians, one of whom also works as the medical director, two full-time nurses, one administrative assistant and a part-time director of development.

More than 250 volunteers regularly contribute their time. "It's a major part of our operations and is really what keeps the ball rolling," Weaver said.

In the past, the organization has drawn support from medical students at UNC and Duke University, along with students enrolled in Duke's divinity program.

Many of the organization's staff members and volunteers are bilingual in order to meet the diverse needs of Alliance's patients, who speak a variety of languages. Weaver said that 50 percent of the medical center's visitors are Latino and that 28 percent are black.

Staffers at Alliance had nothing but positive things to say about their line of work. "It's great when you can merge your advocation and your vocation together," Bunch said.

Alliance's unique position of not having to sacrifice care for insurance company restrictions also permits its doctors greater liberty to invest their time in patients.

"This practice allows us to spend more time with our patients and less on paperwork," said Weaver. "I love what I do, and I feel like it's a gift to me that I am able to work here."

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