Dear Friends,

2008 has been quite a year! A historic election, an economic downturn the likes of which we haven’t seen in decades, record unemployment and a little Clinic which keeps growing far beyond what any of us that were around in the beginning could ever have imagined. In 2008, we had 3,644 patient visits compared to 2,559 in 2007. Two hundred and eighty patients entered our doors for the first time; this brought our total patient population to 1,500. Fortunately we added several new volunteer physicians to care for these folks. Our “Docs” have been wonderful; they are the ones that keep the doors open. In 2008, Linda, our “nurse with the bun”, retired after 30 years in nursing. She still works 1 day/week which is good for us and our patients. In February we hired Robin Johnston RN who has been a tremendous addition to our staff and in November Adrienne Solis Sherman agreed to work 1 day/week and fill in when needed. Both of these women have the same caring and dedication to their patients that has become a Fountain Clinic trademark.

We completed our renovation project in 2008. We now have a new dental operatory. Our hygienist, Angie Thorndyke, along with volunteer dentist Dr. Palumbo, is seeing several patients every week. In 2008 we decided to hold wellness clinics. On the first Wednesday of every month we have a free blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol clinic thanks to new equipment purchased with a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The public is welcome and we are seeing several patients every month. We also ran 3 flu shot clinics in 2008 which were very well attended. In all we have given out over 200 flu shots in this past year. We ran a Brown Bag Clinic last spring with the help of Oaklawn’s Pharmacists which we will repeat again this spring.

Thanks to all of you our fundraising events in 2008 have been a lot of fun and at the same time very successful. Our annual appeal also was a tremendous success which is a miracle in these economic times but also a tribute to the overwhelming community support we are so fortunate to have. This support goes beyond the monetary donations. It’s our volunteers who work at the Clinic or help with the fundraisers, the in-kind grant for labs and x-rays provided every year by Oaklawn Hospital, the folks who drop off soaps and other personal items for our patients and paper products for the Clinic and the students that hold bake sales so they can buy shampoo and laundry soap for our patients. It is this support that makes the Clinic what it is-a medical home for those who have nowhere else to go.

Finally, I would like to thank my wonderful staff and all of you for making my first year at the Clinic such a rewarding experience. May God bless you and your families.

Sincerely,
Mary Jo Byrne, Executive Director

2009
Fundraising
Events