In 2011, Meadow Glade Seventh Day Adventist Church in Battle Ground started a free clinic because many in their community couldn’t (and still can’t) afford the healthcare they need and deserve.

 A few years after, Susan Neal, replanting herself in Washington after a long healthcare career in Oregon, met Ruthie Gohl, then-executive director at the clinic. Initially, Sue hoped to volunteer at the clinic as a nurse, but it wasn’t going to go quite like that. Neal remembers Gohl looking at her mischievously; “Oh no, dear. I have other ideas for you.” Not long after, Susan K. Neal became the clinic’s deputy director, and eventually, executive director.

        Gohl spotted a good head on Neal’s shoulders, and exceptional passion for the clinic. Her care and determination has indeed served the patients and the clinic along their way. In 2021, Battle Ground HealthCare moved from Center Point to the vacated Legacy Healthcare building. It’s rare for a free clinic to land in such a well-suited building. 

There’s a large, inviting lobby staffed by welcoming volunteer front desk associates during a clinic. The dental clinic is warm and full of windows, and the seats of the dental chairs are so buttery—Alissa Watkins, Director of Development and our tour guide for the moment—invites us to touch them. We pause there for a moment. It’s true, even the chairs at my dentist aren’t so nice. At a free clinic in a small town, it should be unheard of. “This is such a place of dignity,” Watkins observes as we walk. It’s not a line; the space is professional, dignified, and animated by dedicated staff.

        “[The move] catapulted us about 20 years into the future of the clinic,” Neal says. While the increased visibility and capacity brings its own challenges, Neal is thrilled with the progress, and so are the patients. In the Center Point space, BGHC offered 4-6 dental and medical clinics a month. Now, they’ve offered as many as 25 dental clinics and 35 medical clinics, more than quadrupling the previous clinics. “We call 19 clinics a slow month now,” Neal says, disbelieving.

        A “clinic” is the time when licensed medical and dental practitioners see patients. Clinics are 4 hours. With the exception of 3 part-time dental staff and 4 part-time medical staff, each of BGHC’s medical and dental practitioners volunteer their time. 

BGHC employs 4 full-time and 7 part-time staff, and it has over 230 active volunteers, a ratio of almost 30-1. Volunteer practitioners like Shannon Schram, owner of Battle Ground Physical Therapy, come from Battle Ground themselves. The BGHC staff and volunteer corps agree that the priority is completely free care for under- and uninsured adults (18+). “This has a positive ripple effect throughout our community. [The patients] are healthier moms and dads,” Watkins wrote to me.

        BGHC offers dental screenings, extractions, cleanings, fillings, and as of 2022, dentures. They conduct most physical exams, physical therapy, and can perform tests in an on-site lab. They empower patients with diabetes prevention and management classes and nutrition counseling. BGHC’s patient navigator can also help patients determine their eligibility for insurance. 

     They have partnerships throughout the community to incorporate medical residency and dental hygiene programs, from Legacy Health/Vancouver Clinic Residency and Clark College respectively, that strengthen and inspire the next generation of healthcare workers. Neal and her team wants to see their patients roundly supported and cared for, now and into the future. It’s taken a lot for them to manifest all of this, and now sustainability is the question.

        With their increased space and service, the support that BGHC needs to seize their future has grown. “Volunteers are truly the heart of what we do,” Watkins writes, and they’re in need of more practitioners than ever, particularly doctors, nurses, and hygienists, as well as podiatrists, chiropractors, denture technicians, and more. Once, they could offer medical massage, but during the COVID-19 years they lost their massage therapist and haven’t been able to reinstate the service. Growing the clinic means expanding their online presence as well, and currently they’re looking for passionate volunteers who are knowledgeable about social media. You don’t have to be a healthcare professional to volunteer, you just need a heart for service; they are always looking to add janitorial, IT, and administrative aides to the team—and if you have other skills you’d like to volunteer, everyone is encouraged to reach out.

        Community donors and grants also sustain BGHC, so if you’d like to donate, you can do so here at this QR code, or on their website, bghealthcare.org.