"Warren County, Virginia, at the confluence of the North and South Forks of the Shenandoah River has neither the rolling hills of horse country nor the fertile plains of the Shenandoah Valley.The Front Royal Presbyterian Church spearheaded the establishment of this particular clinic in 1996. Due to the scale of the job, the other churches in Front Royal were invited to join in the endeavor, and this clinic continues to serve the uninsured and underinsured of this community.
Of its 36,000 citizens, an estimated 6,000 are uninsured. Typically, when they get sick, the uninsured go to the emergency room, which is about the most inefficient and costly way of delivering primary medical care.
But, thanks to the initiative of some local Christians, the uninsured of Warren County can instead go to the St. Luke Community Clinic for free medical care. In FY 2006, 2,633 uninsured people did just that."
What struck me about this story is that the cost is not only minimal or free to the beneficiaries, but the St. Luke Community Clinic does not submit vouchers to the Federal Government, thus making it free to the taxpayer as well. Volunteer physicians, nurses, and other persons provide the services and various local agencies and organizations provide additional support.
What a ministry!
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