A Texas church is serving its community by offering free medical urgent care services at no cost, regardless of whether patients have identification or health insurance. The clinic, which is open weekly, is one of several community outreach programs of Highland Baptist Church in Waco.
The church offers the clinic through its Wellness Center, which is “dedicated to serving [the] Waco community with compassion, inspired by the teachings of Jesus Christ,” according to its website.
The Wellness Center offers urgent care from 5 to 8 p.m. every Monday. A $10 contribution is encouraged for patients receiving care, but it is not required.
The clinic is equipped to treat a number of non-life-threatening conditions, “including minor injuries, illnesses, and routine medical services. This includes treatment for coughs, colds, flu, infections, earaches, rashes, lacerations, minor traumas, and injuries,” according to the Wellness Center’s website.
The clinic is staffed by nurses, doctors, and physician assistants. All of the medical professionals are volunteers, most of whom attend Highland Baptist Church. The vision for the clinic was birthed when Dr. Katy Vogelaar, now a volunteer healthcare provider for the clinic, came to church leadership with the idea.
“We saw how people don’t have access to [affordable healthcare],” Frank San Martin, the pastor who oversees the Wellness Center, told KWTX. “Or it’s a complicated process…And there’s just a long wait, because there’s a lot of people in our area [who] need medical attention.”
The vision of Highland Baptist Church is to “gather,” “grow,” and “go,” and San Martin is part of the leadership of the church’s “go” team, which seeks to help church members “to live on mission.”
“A lot of our nurses and doctors get excited [about] just giving back to our community,” San Martin said. “So it’s a way that they can get plugged in, they can serve, they can love, and just care for people that way as well.”
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San Martin emphasized the Wellness Center’s goal to provide “a service that’s affordable, donation based.”
