St. Martin’s Healthcare, Inc. Fund

Donor Fund Story:

“In order to fulfill Christ’s command to care for the sick and to uphold the sanctity of life from conception to natural death, it is the mission of St. Martin’s Healthcare Services to offer quality healthcare to those individuals without the means to provide for themselves. In this, we strive to help maintain the physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual health of our community.”

St. Martin’s Healthcare opened on October 10, 2005 to serve the need of the uninsured residents of DeKalb County. Offering basic primary care, the clinic was open just 8 hours a week staffed by volunteers under the direction of Stanley, Greenberg, DO, long time DeKalb County physician.

As time went on the need for healthcare increased as uninsured peaked at nearly 45 million in the USA. In May of 2016, St. Martin’s Healthcare expanded its service area to include the uninsured residing in Noble County and eventually to also include those who are under-insured.

The clinic offers medical, dental, vision clinics, and mental health counseling and is open 30-34 hours weekly documenting nearly 4,000 visits to the clinic annually. (2019 statistics) St. Martin’s Healthcare is the medical and dental home for those patients who do not have access to affordable healthcare and otherwise would go without.

The Medical Clinic offers basic primary healthcare for acute illnesses or injuries as well as for chronic disease care such as hypertension and diabetes by volunteer and staff practitioners. An on-site lab allows simple lab testing such as A1C, Chemistry panels, Lipids and more to be completed at the time of the patient visit. A large medication room provides patients with prescribed medications until Prescription Assistance with a pharmaceutical program is in place. If a patient needs the services of a specialist, this arranged through the clinic. A small co-pay does apply for these service. Health and wellness education with nurse practitioners and a certified diabetic educator, disease prevention screening and special Women’s Health Days are also available.

The Dental Clinic started in 2008 to initially help our patients be pain free and infection free. Over the years, it has grown to be the dental home for many in our community providing dental exams, x-rays and panoramic films, fillings, extractions, limited oral surgery extractions, cleanings, fluoride treatments oral health education and oral cancer screenings. Currently a dentist is in the clinic a minimum 1 day a week.

A Vision Clinic is held monthly as volunteer providers are available. Patients receive a full dilated exam at the clinic. If a prescription for spectacles is needed, a patient is provided a voucher to assist with the cost of glasses. No contact lenses are provided. Regular vision exams is especially important for our diabetic patient population.

Our Mental Health counselor is available two days each week to work with our patients. All patients see at St. Martin’s Healthcare are screened for depression, anxiety, and PTSD at every visit. We have found that patients respond very well to time with our counselor and may also be provided medications as needed to improve the mental wellness.

The St. Martin’s Healthcare Fund was established in 2019 by our board of directors to ensure long term sustainability and access to care for Noble County residents. Our board of directors is comprised of community members from the communities we serve.