MEREDITH: WELCOME BACK TO SUNRISE. WESH 2’S LATEST COMMUNITY CHAMPION IS A HEALTHCARE HUB THAT’S SERVING PEOPLE WHO CAN’T AFFORD HEALTH INSURANCE. JASON: ONE ORLANDO PEDIATRICIAN SAW THERE WERE SO MANY WHO WERE UNINSURED RIGHT HERE IN HIS HOMETOWN, AND HE DECIDED TO CREATE A PLACE TO SERVE THEM. THIS IS GRACE MEDICAL HOME. >> IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU TODAY. I’M GLAD YOU ARE HERE. JASON: 12 YEARS AGO DR. MARVIN HARDY WAS WORKING AT A CENTRAL FLORIDA PEDIATRIC OFFICE, BUT SAYS HE WASN’T FULFILLED. >> I LOVE WHERE I WORKED. BUT HAVING GROWN UP HERE, I JUST FELT LIKE I WAS DRIVING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION. JASON: HE SAW TOO MANY PEOPLE IN NEED OF MEDICAL CARE BEING LEFT BEHIND. >> AND THAT BURDEN BECAME MUCH GREATER THAN ANY STABILITY I MIGHT HAVE HAD WHERE I WAS. IT KIND OF OVERWHELMED ME AND GOT TO THE POINT WHERE I NEEDED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. JASON: SO HE LEFT HIS JOB TO HELP START GRACE MEDICAL HOME. >> I WAS JUST REALLY FORTUNATE THERE IS A WHOLE GROUP OF OTHER PEOPLE THAT FELT THE SAME WAY. AND THAT WAS REALLY HOW GRACE GOT GOING. THAT WAS THE MOMENTUM TO GET IT GOING. JASON: GRACE MEDICAL HOME PROVIDES CARE FOR LOW-INCOME, UNINSURED PEOPLE IN ORANGE COUNTY. >> I WAS IN EMERGENCY ROOM AND THEY SENT ME BACK HOME BECAUSE I DIDN’T HAVE ANY INSURANCE FOR CONTINUED MY TREATMENT. JASON: ROSA AMANDA POOL WAS HAVING KIDNEY ISSUES WHEN A FRIEND TOLD HER ABOUT GRACE MEDICAL HOME. SHE WAS THE VERY FIRST PATIENT. TODAY ROSA IS IN GOOD HEALTH AND NOW WORKS AT GRACE, HELPING OTHERS. >> I KNOW EXACTLY HOW THEY FEEL AND I KNOW WHAT IT IS TO HAVE NOTHING AND THEN TO COME BECOME A PATIENT HERE, AND THEY SAY, WELL, NOW I CAN BE SEEN BY A DOCTOR. JASON: GRACE MEDICAL HOME ONLY ASKS PEOPLE TO PAY WHAT THEY CAN, WHICH MIGHT BE JUST FIVE DOLLARS, AND NEVER MORE THAN $40, AS A WAY FOR PATIENTS TAKE OWNERSHIP OF THEIR CARE. THE TEAM WORKS TO HEAL THE WHOLE PERSON BY OFFERING DOZENS AND DOZENS OF SERVICES, INCLUDING DOCTOR VISITS, MEDICAL TESTING, DENTAL EXAMS, MENTAL HEALTH CARE, AND SO MUCH MORE. MEDICATION CAN BE A HUGE FINANCIAL BURDEN. GRACE HAS A FACILITY ON-SITE TO HELP PEOPLE GET FREE OR LOW-COST PRESCRIPTIONS. >> WE HAVE A GROUP OF FOLKS IN OUR DISPENSARY THAT’S FILLING OUT INFORMATION. JASON: THERE IS EVEN A FOOD PANTRY. IT’S JUST ONE MORE WAY GRACE MEETS THE NEEDS OF PATIENTS. >> WE’RE ABOUT COMPASSION. WE’RE ABOUT LOVING OUR NEIGHBOR. WE’RE ABOUT WALKING WITH FOLKS THROUGH DIFFICULT TIMES. WE’RE ABOUT LOVING PEOPLE JUST AS CHRIST LOVED US. JASON: GRACE MEDICAL HOME RELIES ON DONATIONS TO FUND THE WORK. IT ALSO COULDN’T OPERATE WITHOUT SO MANY PEOPLE GIVING OF THEIR TIME AND TALENTS. >> WHEN YOU WALK AROUND HERE YOU WERE GOING TO SEE MORE VOLUNTEERS THAN STAFF. AND THAT’S AWESOME. OUR VOLUNTEERS BRING SO MUCH ENERGY HERE FROM THE WELCOME ROOM, TO MENTAL HEALTH, TO HELPING WITH FOOD. JASON: DR. HARDY IS PROUD TO DO LIFE-CHANGING WORK. >> WE’RE TRYING TO PROVIDE A STANDARD OF CARE FOR THE LOW -INCOME THAT THEY ARE NOT USED TO RECEIVING. JASON: AND THAT’S WHY GRACE MEDICAL HOME IS A WESH 2 COMMUNITY CHAMPION OF THE WEEK. >> THIS SHOULD BE THE STANDARD OF HEALTH CARE FOR ALL PEOPLE, REGARDLESS OF THEIR LEVEL OF INCOME. JASON: LISTEN TO THIS. THEY PROVIDED ABOUT $10.3 MILLION WORTH OF MEDICAL SERVICES JUST LAST YEAR. THEY WANT TO KEEP DOING MORE. IF YOU WANT TO FIND OUT ABOUT GETTING HEALTH CARE TO MAKE A DONATION, WE WILL LINK YOU FROM THE COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS PAGE OF WESH.COM. THAT’S ALSO WHERE YOU CAN NOMINATE A COMMUNITY CHAMPION. USE THE FORM ON WESH.COM OR EMAIL US. THE ADDRESS IS ON YOUR SCREEN. WE COULD SPOTLIGHT THAT PERSON OR GROUP THURSDAYS HERE ON WESH 2 NEWS. MEREDITH: WHAT A GREAT STORY.
WESH 2 Community Champion: Grace Medical Home
Updated: 9:24 AM EDT Aug 11, 2022
Dr. Marvin Hardy recalls working at a Central Florida pediatric office 12 years ago and feeling unfulfilled. "I love where I worked, but having grown up here, I just felt like I was driving in the wrong direction."Hardy told WESH 2 News he saw too many people in need of medical care being left behind. And he says, "that burden became much greater than any stability I might have had where I was, it kind of overwhelmed me and got to the point where I needed to do something about this."So he left his pediatric position to help start Grace Medical Home."I was just really fortunate that there's a whole group of other people that felt the same way. And that was really how Grace got going. That was the momentum," says Hardy.Grace Medical Home provides care for low-income, uninsured people in Orange County. Grace asks people to pay what they can, which might be just $5 and never more than $40, as a way for patients to take ownership of their care. The team works to heal the whole person by offering dozens and dozens of services. These include doctor visits, medical testing, dental exams, mental health care, and so much more. Medication can be a huge financial burden. Grace has a facility on-site to help people get free or low-cost prescriptions. There's even a food pantry which is just one more way Grace meets the needs of patients."We're about compassion. We're about loving our neighbor. We're about walking with folks through difficult times," says Hardy. "We're about loving people just as Christ loved us."Grace Medical Home relies on donations to fund the work. It also couldn't operate without so many people giving their time and talents."When you walk around here, you're going to see more volunteers than staff. And that's awesome. Our volunteers bring so much energy here from the welcome room to mental health to helping with food," Hardy said.He is proud of the life-changing work saying, "We're trying to provide a standard of care for the low income, that they're not used to receiving."That's why Grace Medical Home is a WESH 2 Community Champion of the Week."This should be the standard of health care for all people, regardless of their level of income," Hardy said.Learn more about the WESH 2 Community Champion: Grace Medical Home by following this link: GraceMedicalHome.org
Dr. Marvin Hardy recalls working at a Central Florida pediatric office 12 years ago and feeling unfulfilled. "I love where I worked, but having grown up here, I just felt like I was driving in the wrong direction."
Hardy told WESH 2 News he saw too many people in need of medical care being left behind. And he says, "that burden became much greater than any stability I might have had where I was, it kind of overwhelmed me and got to the point where I needed to do something about this."
So he left his pediatric position to help start Grace Medical Home.
"I was just really fortunate that there's a whole group of other people that felt the same way. And that was really how Grace got going. That was the momentum," says Hardy.
Grace Medical Home provides care for low-income, uninsured people in Orange County. Grace asks people to pay what they can, which might be just $5 and never more than $40, as a way for patients to take ownership of their care. The team works to heal the whole person by offering dozens and dozens of services. These include doctor visits, medical testing, dental exams, mental health care, and so much more. Medication can be a huge financial burden. Grace has a facility on-site to help people get free or low-cost prescriptions. There's even a food pantry which is just one more way Grace meets the needs of patients.
"We're about compassion. We're about loving our neighbor. We're about walking with folks through difficult times," says Hardy. "We're about loving people just as Christ loved us."
Grace Medical Home relies on donations to fund the work. It also couldn't operate without so many people giving their time and talents.
"When you walk around here, you're going to see more volunteers than staff. And that's awesome. Our volunteers bring so much energy here from the welcome room to mental health to helping with food," Hardy said.
He is proud of the life-changing work saying, "We're trying to provide a standard of care for the low income, that they're not used to receiving."
That's why Grace Medical Home is a WESH 2 Community Champion of the Week.
"This should be the standard of health care for all people, regardless of their level of income," Hardy said.
Learn more about the WESH 2 Community Champion: Grace Medical Home by following this link: GraceMedicalHome.org