The Unique Prince Georges Clinic*

A Local Church Missionary Project

I don't know much about Seventh-day Ad­ventists, but if their religion is responsible for the good work they are doing at their clinic, I almost believe I'd like to be one of them." The speaker, a poorly dressed woman, had come to the drugstore with a prescription from the medical clinic operated by the Sev­enth-day Adventist church in Hyattsville, Maryland. Several members of the county welfare board were in the store and overheard the remark, and later, one of them, in relating the story to F. D. Nichol, the pastor of the Hyattsville church, smilingly observed that he agreed with the woman.

Many within the influence of this clinic now echo the feelings of this grateful woman. But there was a time when Seventh-day Adventists were not generally regarded with favor in the community. When, nearly eight years ago, a company of Review and Herald workers opened an effort in the little town of Hyatts­ville, five miles from Takoma Park, strong op­position was encountered. However, the Lord blessed the work, and in due course a company of converts, augmented by a group from the overcrowded churches in Takoma Park, were organized into a church.

At first the members met numerous rebuffs in their missionary efforts. Harvest Ingather­ing workers confronted many closed doors—and some slammed doors. During the depression, when there was need on every hand for Christian help work, the women from the church went one afternoon to the local welfare agency and offered their services, but were coolly informed that they were not needed. What to do? If the church members could not join forces with a relief organization already established, they could work independently.

"Medical missionary work," says the Spirit of prophecy, "is the pioneer work of the gospel."—"Medical Ministry," p. 239. Medical welfare work—here was a line of endeavor not being pursued by any relief organization in the county. Perchance that was the service which the Lord would have the Hyattsville church undertake. Something to serve the physical needs of the destitute would provide a channel to minister to their spiritual needs also. So the idea of a clinic was conceived, as an avenue of service for a missionary church in the midst of a prejudiced community.

Contacts were made with county health-board. officers, and State and Federal welfare or­ganizations. The project was studied over with the county medical society.

The Washington Sanitarium, five miles away, made the project possible from a pro­fessional standpoint by agreeing to furnish the services of one of their staff doctors. The location of the clinic was settled when a Catholic lawyer offered, rent free, the use of an unoccupied store building which he owned. He also donated a stove and miscellaneous pieces of furniture. The institution was to be named for the county in which it was situated—the Prince Georges Clinic. How­ever, much more than a doctor, a location, and a name were necessary to start a clinic. The little brick store building bore faint resem­blance to the clean, attractive, model medical unit which was the dream of the church mem­bers. Dust, dirt, and cobwebs were every­where. Black streaks decorated the walls_ Roaches scurried across the floor.

But the church members set to work. Carpenters built partitions; housewives made curtains ; and everybody—church officers, Sab­bath school officers, laymen and laywomen—scrubbed walls, washed windows, sprayed cracks with roach powder, and mopped floors. Rugs and furniture were retrieved from attics. several pictures were secured for the waiting room, a meager selection of medical furniture and instruments was procured—and the Prince Georges Clinic was ready for business.

At one-thirty on Tuesday afternoon, Feb­ruary 21, ton, the clinic opened its doors. A doctor, the supervisor, Mrs, T. K. Martin, and a receiving clerk were on duty. Would any patients come? Yes, some did. Only a few the first day. But it was a beginning. After that, the clinic was conducted regularly each Tuesday afternoon. The work proceeded slowly. It was found, however, that the clinic filled a very definite need, and gradually a reg­ular clientele was built up. The location of the Prince Georges Clinic does not lend itself to the large patronage which a city clinic would have. It is situated in a suburban section, with a total population of about 20,000 within a radius of five miles.

A unique feature of the project is that the operation of the clinic, except for the services of the doctors, has from the first been carried entirely by the members of the Hyattsyille church. The work has always been conducted in harmony with approved procedure for clinics. A registration card, including in­formation as to name, age, family, and amount of income, if any, is kept for each patient. Only applicants whose home situation shows them to be eligible for charity are received. A charge of twenty-five cents is made for each patient, though no one in need is turned away for lack of this. In fact, many are not able to pay anything, and are admitted free. No distinction is made as to race, color, or creed.

Several times during the first few years of the clinic, its location had to be changed. It encountered other setbacks. But gradually it became established. The State and county welfare agencies began to recognize the serv­ice it was rendering. Some of the very people who had formerly declined to accept the as­sistance of the sisters of the church in general welfare work, went out of their way to co­operate in the work of the clinic. Finally the Catholic lawyer who owned the store which first housed the clinic, and who had followed with interest its progress, offered to erect a building. Plans were drawn by the directors of the clinic. The finished job revealed a one-story red-brick structure. Across the front of the building is a large waiting room. In the rear are a doctor's office, a supervisor's of­fice, a receiving room, two examining rooms, a dental office, and a utility room.

The patronage of the clinic has grown rapidly since it was moved into the new build­ing. It is now open for general clinical work twice a week—on Tuesday morning and Thurs­day evening. At these times, the reception room is nearly always crowded. As many as forty patients are handled during one clinic period. Arrangements are made with the Washington Sanitarium, as the need arises, to take groups of patients from the clinic to the hospital for tonsillectomies. A nominal fee is charged. The opportunity thus afforded for this surgical work is highly appreciated. Dur­ing 1937 forty-three tonsillectomies were per­formed as a result of this plan.

Almost from the first, the need of a dental clinic was apparent. As there was no Ad­ventist dentist practicing nearby, the aid of non-Adventist dentists was solicited, and those approached willingly agreed to give one morn­ing of their time at recurring intervals for clinical work. Three dentists rotated regularly for a time, and now, since two Adventist dentists have set up practice in a near-by town, they also have been glad to cooperate. After one busy dental-clinic period, the visiting clinician presented the supervisor with an al­most complete set of dental instruments. They were from a retired dentist, who no longer needed them and wished the Prince Georges Clinic, of which he had heard favorable re­ports, to have them. This illustrates the kindly cooperation on the part of professional men not of our faith.

The clinic, with its admirable facilities, has become a center in the community for medical charity work. When the county and State health officers visited the new building, they *ere enthusiastic in their commendation of it. Not long afterward, they requested the privi­lege of using the building one evening a week for a venereal clinic. They said that one of the greatest difficulties encountered in the fight against social diseases, which has recently been inaugurated throughout the country, is finding suitable places for conducting the clinics. The directors of the clinic were, of course, glad to accommodate them. Later, a similar provision was made for tuberculosis and orthopedic clinics. The social-service agencies of the county conduct their monthly business meet­ings in the clinic building. Making the build­ing available in this manner for related activi­ties has naturally helped to demonstrate to all the desire of Seventh-day Adventists to cooperate fully in philanthropic work.

The clinic has always been operated on sound financial principles. The expenditures have been kept within the limit of the dona­tions and offerings received, and a careful record has been kept of all transactions. For the first few years the income, aside from the nominal fees charged the patients, was made up almost entirely of offerings received at the midweek prayer meetings of the Hyattsville church. Since the new building has been opened, the local conference, recognizing that the value of the clinic extends very definitely beyond the local church group, has gladly con­tributed a certain amount each month.

In the fall of 1937, the Community Chest plans for Washington, D.C., were expanded to embrace the adjoining counties in a Greater Washington Community Chest drive. Prince Georges County was included in the plan. Several local businessmen encouraged the di­rectors of the clinic to apply for assistance from the local unit of the Community Chest. The church board considered the suggestion very carefully, satisfied themselves that an appropriation from Community Chest funds would in no way limit Harvest Ingathering ac­tivities, and finally authorized the preparation of an estimate of the needs of the clinic.

By the time this estimate was finally in shape, the budget of Community Chest funds had already been made up. Nevertheless, the committee was so impressed with the story of the clinic that they revamped the budget and allotted $1,200 to the Prince Georges Clinic for the year 1938. This welcome con­tribution has permitted considerable enlarge­ment in the scone of the work. As a result of this affiliation, with recognized welfare inter­ests, the registration cards of the clinic have been revised so as to make them almost identi­cal with those of the Central Admitting Bureau, in Washington, D.C., the office set up by the Community Chest for registering all applicants for medical welfare by hospitals and clinics of the city and its suburbs. Also, the case records of our clinic are now cross-referenced with theirs.