Thank you to our email customers for using an easier, cheaper way to communicate - From the volunteers who put the updates out – and special thanks to medical student Philip Lieu, who along with others has gained great appreciation for church secretaries and others who maintain mailing lists. Yikes!

Numbers for April-June (not counting health education classes, screening, and other community health activities). 

In reviewing Agape statistics for 2005 we realized that the total expenditure/patient – including all medications – was less than $20.30. That is an astonishing number. It is possible because of the dedication of the many volunteers who provide services, the donation of many of our medications (though we must also purchase many medications), and support from other organizations such as Baylor University and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Clinic Update

Each summer at Agape we see a crew of volunteers step up to support the work of the clinic. This year we have again had outstanding volunteers, including students from Chapel Hill, UTSW, Baylor, Case Western, SMU, North Dallas High School, and Lipscomb Elementary. And, of course there are the volunteers who come month after month such as Amit Pandya, MD (dermatology), Elva Montoya, M.D. (pediatrics), Sonya de la Cruz (community), Robert Bondy, M.D. (pediatrics), Meg Kaufmann, M.D. (psychiatry), Juana Casteñada (community), Patrick McGrory, M.D. (pediatrics), and many others. Photo: Mary Horn, son Webb & friend

Classes for parents at Lipscomb and Zaragoza Elementary Schools continued until summer, as did diabetes classes in the clinic (thanks to Dallas Concilio).  

A few weeks ago a mother brought her 19 year old daughter in because her daughter is sinking further into depression and desperation. The bright side is that the young woman is in college – oh, how we have come to appreciate Dallas County Community College District! The other side is that her condition is very serious. We started her on an anti-depressant and appointed her to see Dr. Kaufmann, our psychiatrist. We/our patients are truly blessed to have a psychiatrist at Agape.

Depression is the fourth-leading cause of the global disease burden and the leading cause of disability worldwide. Depression affects millions of people worldwide, seriously reduces the quality of life for individuals and their families, leads to numerous suicides, and often worsens the outcome of other physical health problems (Population Reference Bureau, 2006). More on this later.

Earlier in this quarter a man with hypertension and diabetes came to the clinic. He had been being treated by a private physician and was buying his medications without benefit of insurance for more than $200/month from an inner-city pharmacy. He had suffered a financial setback and asked if we could treat him. We did and he insisted on us writing prescriptions so he could buy his own. The social worker called several pharmacies and discovered that his medications were available for less than $70 for a one month supply. And so it goes – justice and ethics at Agape.

Last week a crew from Motion Media Solutions filmed the clinic and interviewed several patients, volunteers, and staff for a short film on Agape (supported by the Cornerstone Congregation of Highland Park United Methodist Church). Their questions and events of the week brought into focus the heart of Agape. We’ve talked before about what makes Agape unique:

·       Care that encompasses the physical, spiritual, psychological, and social realms.

·       Care that encompasses and lifts up individuals, families, and community.

·       An amazing cost to benefit ratio (see previous discussion of he total cost of care/patient in 2005).

·       And much more.

The questions asked by the film producer centered around, what is special about Agape? The events that brought Agape into focus ranged from small to very big:

·       There was conflict between two volunteers. They took their anger and so on to the sanctuary and there, in a place that puts conflict into its proper perspective, scuffled (verbally) for a bit, looked into their own and one another’s hearts, and embraced. We are flawed and grace surpasses our shortcomings.

·       One of our faithful volunteers was diagnosed with breast cancer and is scheduled for surgery and six weeks of radiation. She said, “I’m probably going to miss some days.” We are tough and committed.

·       Our wonderful and faithful volunteer, Kelly Werlinger, M.D. died after a long struggle with depression and just weeks after graduation from medical school. Kelly was central in the success of the Agape dermatology clinic and despite her own pain and challenges in life, was a joy and inspiration to many physicians, nurses, volunteers, patients, and others. She was a sweet, lovely, and very strong person. We are in the business of healing and there are times when life is too much – even for the best of us.

And so we keep on, now with a strengthened dedication to screening and treating depression.

Nora Avila, Agape’s lead promotora was hit hard with Kelly’s death. When we were talking about Kelly she said, “You know that patient who said she was going to kill herself two weeks ago?” “Sure – L____, right.” “Yes. I’ve been talking with her every day since then. I think she’s going to be okay.” Photo: Kelly Werlinger

What is special about Agape besides the services and quality care? Agape is a community. We are a community of hope, of love, of healing, of grace, of agape. I couldn’t say this on camera because (1) I could not articulate all of this and (2) even had I been able to find these words, I could not have gotten them out.

Kelly’s last email to Agape: Thank you for all your support of dermatology at the Agape clinic. During my four years of volunteering there, I had some of the most rewarding moments of my medical school career. Keep up the great work!! Kelly Werlinger (6/2/2006)

From a memorial by Sandy Bendeck, M.D.: I had the fortune of working with Kelly over the last year at the Agape Clinic, a free clinic for patients without insurance. Without Kelly, we would not have been able to run the dermatology clinic as smoothly and as effectively as it was run. It was a pleasure to work with her and to see how she touched the lives of many of the patients we saw and how they touched hers. I am very sad about her premature departure from this life, but her presence, her many contributions to all of us, and her smile will not be forgotten.

The basement at Grace flooded a few months ago (it does rain here) and there was significant damage. Clean-up included taking ALL the drugs out of the pharmacy and then putting them back in – minus 15 big trash bags of culled meds. A very big job. Once again, a wonderful volunteer crew stepped in from Grace and took all the medications out and another crew of clinic volunteers and promotoras put them back up. This work and of course the events discussed above gave us some real growth as a community. You won’t believe how good it looks. Photo: Burmese (Karen) patient and daughter

UTSW has again placed a summer community health fellow (Liz Ramirez) with Agape. Liz is looking at (1) how many patients with chronic illness are achieving effective self-care and why and (2) how many are not achieving effective self-care and why not. We also will have an anthropology student (Marisa Abbe) from Case Western Reserve with us over the next year, studying patient/provider interactions. Marisa has already distinguished herself with the pharmacy move.

Other

With financial support from the Dallas Women’s Foundation and facilitation from Betty Richardson the Agape Board of Directors held a board retreat in June. Out of that retreat, we formed board membership and strategic planning committees. We will report on this as their work unfolds.

One of the students working with us this summer (Kate Scott from Chapel Hill) is surveying physicians and nurse practitioners who are currently volunteering or who have volunteered at Agape. She is trying to determine what they like best and least about volunteering at Agape and what suggestions they have for improving the volunteer experience at Agape. There already is some interesting information coming from this survey.