In John chapter 5, when Jesus meets a man disabled for 38 years, Christ not only cares for the man’s physical ailment, but his spiritual needs as well. This is the vision for QuestCare Clinic: a Watermark Community Church Partnership. Starting in August, QuestCare Clinic will offer free medical services, at its location at Skillman and Whitehurst (near LBJ Fwy).
More than a year ago, Watermark member and physician Matt Bush, who works with QuestCare Medical Services, saw the need for a separate charity clinic to serve the medical needs of the Dallas community. “While the QuestCare team offers medical expertise, we did not know a lot about meeting needs in an underserved community,” said Dr. Matt Bush. “Watermark is the first organization we talked to about the Clinic and from there the partnership began.”
QuestCare Clinic will be located in the 75243 zipcode – one of the most densely populated in Dallas. More than 90,000 people live within the two-mile radius of Skillman and LBJ, 95 percent of whom are unchurched. The area has the fifth highest violent crime rate in the city. Due to the economically depressed nature of this neighborhood, the residents are largely uninsured and lack basic access to quality healthcare. The heart behind QuestCare Clinic is to model Christ by providing medical treatment and health education to the underinsured and uninsured in Dallas.
“Our goal is to be a high quality resource for healthcare to a community in need,” said Matt. “QuestCare Clinic is a place where medical providers and others at Watermark can volunteer their time and be the hands and feet of Christ. This is a place where others throughout the community will see the great work God is doing through His people.”
Watermark and QuestCare have provided funding for the construction and basic operation of QuestCare Clinic, but will seek partners to help further develop the clinic and enhance the scope and level of services offered. Though no one will ever be turned away for their inability to pay, patients are encouraged to contribute $10 for the care they receive.
“We see this as a huge outreach opportunity because there is a great need in our own backyard,” said Jeff Ward, Watermark’s Director of External Focus. “Due to the close proximity to Watermark, we’ll be able to connect people in the community to ministries like re:generation and Re|Engage. QuestCare Clinic is not only an excellent opportunity to deploy our medical professionals, it’s also a spot others where others can serve as translators, administrators and providers of pastoral care can help with needs in our community.”
Several new staff members are already in place, including Laura Trent, who will handle volunteer coordination and pastoral care, and Ryan Martin, who will serve as the clinic director. There is an immediate need for volunteers in medical specialties, including orthopedics, plastic surgery, OB-GYN, and others who can serve as consultants and as a referral network for those who need more specialized care.
“We did research to make sure we weren’t duplicating services,” said Jeff. “There are other community service clinics, but they aren’t outfitted for urgent care. This is a great collaborative model, and we want to be a team player with other area clinics.” In addition to QuestCare Foundation and Watermark, area organizations and leaders assisting with the QuestCare Clinic effort include Omniplan, the Beck Group, CBRE and Medical City Dallas Hospital.
As QuestCare Clinic opens its doors to patients in a few short weeks, the team is looking for volunteers from inside and out of the medical field to provide medical care, pastoral care and other services. From the blue print stage until today, Matt Bush sees God’s hand at work throughout the development of the clinic. “The Lord put this clinic together on His timeframe, and the progress has been phenominal,” said Matt. “God has brought the right team of people together to make the Clinic possible, and I look forward to working with many others who the Lord calls to partner with us in this mission.”
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