Rediscovering Health and Faith at Grace

Shirley arrived at Grace homeless, without insurance, and experiencing acute abdominal pain.  The physical pain she endured was so severe, “comparable to childbirth or kidney stones,” said Shirley, that she felt as if she was on death’s door. She was diagnosed with diverticulitis, an infection found in the intestines, and Grace provided the necessary antibiotics to treat the infection. Her health also improved as she drastically changed her diet to eliminate sugar, salt, and rice.

Her mental, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing were also marred by past years of domestic violence, which drew her away from God. “I was empty…I had no church,” Shirley shared. Grace helped her process the past trauma, renew her faith and connection to God, and enabled her to further transform her life.

 

Empowered by her healthier lifestyle and renewed faith, Shirley and her three sons are living healthier, happier lives. They even welcomed Geraldo, Shirley’s husband, to the family.

 

Volunteer Spotlight: Carolina Ganan

Carolina Ganan has been a dedicated volunteer at Grace since 2019. Carolina first learned about Grace as a Junior at the University of Central Florida when she attended Outreach Conference hosted by the UCF College of Medicine. Dr. Marvin Hardy was a guest speaker at the conference and gave a heartwarming presentation that sparked an interest in Carolina. His passion and enthusiasm made her determined to get involved with Grace. “I knew that Grace was missing in my journey to become a physician,” Carolina said.

 She first started volunteering at the front desk, and soon after, she learned about the Gap Year Internship program. As a pre-medical student, she knew that she wanted to grow with an organization professionally and spiritually.

 “Grace taught me the importance flexibility, communication, and most importantly, that it takes a whole team to care for one person,” said Carolina. She learned from Michelle Cash, Grace’s APRN, just how much a provider can do for their patients. She continues to explain, “It is not just about medicine. It is the relationships that you form with your patients. You have to be willing to step in and advocate for your patient; medically and with any social barriers.”  Carolina expressed how demanding her job can be because of the tribulations her patients face, but this inspires her to continue her journey in the medical profession. “I want to be known as a patient’s advocate,” she said.

 One of her favorite aspects of Grace is the teamwork formed among the pediatric care team. “This is something that I have never experienced before,” she said. It became Carolina’s escape from the competitive nature of pre-medical students. It taught her the importance of whole patient care, caring for patients’ physical, social services, mental, and spiritual needs. Grace even provided her with spiritual guidance through several Bible studies and self-discovery.

 Carolina shared that Grace has given her so many unforgettable memories. But the one that stands out the most is when she and another staff member decided to throw a small birthday party for twin patients, one of whom was recently diagnosed with a serious medical illness. They wanted to cheer them up on their special day. This party made her reminisce about her own experience at Shriners Hospital as a child. She remembers how valued she was as a patient, which inspired her to become a doctor when she grew up.

 Carolina recently transitioned from being a Gap Year Intern to serving as an AmeriCorps member in Care Coordination. Carolina’s passion is to become either a pediatrician or a family medicine doctor because of her love for children.

A smile goes a long way

Six-year-old Christian came to Grace Medical Home’s Dental Center for an exam and treatment for tooth decay. The decay on his front teeth appeared so bad that his mother requested we pull them out. Our Dental Center Director, Michelle Lawton, explained to his mom that we try to save every tooth possible because the baby teeth roots guide in the permanent teeth and without them, it is harder to eat. After further explanation and education, his mother agreed to allow us to try and save the teeth.

 When it came time for treatment, Christian was very nervous, but Michelle promised him if he sat still and was brave that once the area was numbed, it wouldn’t hurt at all. Michelle also noticed the Spiderman shoes he was wearing, so she promised him a special surprise for trusting her. He sat like a champ while his front teeth were repaired. 

When they gave him the mirror to see his new smile, he exclaimed that Michelle was his new best friend and he was just so happy not to have black teeth anymore. Michelle presented him with a special electric toothbrush of his own because he said he did not own one. When he opened the bag and saw it was Spiderman, his smile lit up the room.  

As he went to his other appointments at Grace that day, he proudly displayed his new smile for all to see. A smile goes along way.

Volunteer Spotlight: Chris Wasman, Spiritual Care Ambassador

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Volunteers play an incredibly vital role in delivering care to our patients. One unique volunteer role is that of Spiritual Care Ambassadors who share the Word of God, pray with patients, and model the love of Christ.

Chris Wasman has been volunteering as a Spiritual Care Ambassador since May 2020. Chris first learned about Grace when his daughter toured as part of the Elevation Scholars program. Then, at the program’s award celebration, Chris met Pastor Mike Aitcheson, a Grace Board member, and learned more.

“I was in the master’s program at Liberty and I was finding it difficult to find a faith-based/counseling opportunity,” said Chris. I had researched chaplain programs and my daughter reminded me about Grace, so I submitted my resume for an internship in Spiritual Care. That same day, Pastor Omar said a prayer that God send him the right people.” They connected quickly and Chris began interning.

“I went home after the first night of serving here and cried at the dinner table when I was telling my family about Grace,” Chris remembered. Some of his memorable patient encounters include “one patient who came here for care on the physical side, until we met and talked about her faith. Her outlook and her heart started to change – she lit up and the pressure came off of her challenge. I have called people on the phone to pray for them. The father of a child with a terminal illness gave me hope even in the midst of his trial.”

“I loved it so much that when my internship finished, I kept showing up to volunteer,” Chris said. “I can’t stop showing up. Nothing about this place is ‘normal.’ I experience a God moment every time I’m here. God ordains and orchestrates these moments that are incredibly powerful for the people who come through here.”

Chris concluded by saying, “I am overwhelmed by this place every day I have been here. People’s lives are being changed here. They are showing up broken and leave changed; they leave with hope. I am humbled that God would pick us to do this gig.”

Vaccine Clinic Offers Unique Ministry Opportunity

Hebrews 12:15 (“See to it that no one misses the grace of God.”) has been at the heart of Grace’s mission since before we opened. The uncertainty and fear of a global pandemic provided an unusual avenue to put those words into action.

As the COVID-19 vaccines were beginning to roll out, Grace was not on the Department of Health’s radar as a potential community vaccine pop-up site. Our CEO, Stephanie Garris, was adamant about getting the vaccines for our patient population and the community and she pursued her DOH contacts to determine the process of confirming site locations. Stephanie said, “Once we explained who our patients were and how vulnerable they were, Grace was immediately approved to be a Pop-Up COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic site. In fact – our first one was just days after our first conversation.”

The initial clinic occurred the first week all adult Floridians were eligible to get vaccinated and the line for recipients wrapped around our building by 7:30 am.

“Because the clinics were open to all members of our community, it was a great opportunity to minister to those in line and to share Grace’s mission,” said Pastor Omar Cardona, Grace’s Mission Integration Director.

“I just love when I get to interact with patients, no matter the circumstances,” said longtime Spiritual Care Ambassador and mental health counselor, Laurin Cash. “No one likes waiting in line, right? I approached it as ‘what can I do to make waiting in line more comfortable?’ It was fun to be outside and say ‘hi.’ I felt like there were so many people who were weary at first. Once they realized you were there as a friend, their demeanor changed and they opened up. This was a unique vehicle to minister to others.”

Grace was the site for three FEMA COVID-19 Pop-Up Vaccination Clinics where more than 600 people in our community got vaccinated. 

“Grace will continue to seek out opportunities to ensure that no one misses the grace of God,” said Omar.

Welcome New Gap Year Interns!

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We recently welcomed a group of 22 Gap Year Interns to the Grace Family. These amazing college graduates are future physicians, PAs, pharmacists and other health-related professionals who will spend the next year in an immersive, clinical internship at Grace.

They will participate in all aspects of patient care working alongside our staff and community specialists to care for the uninsured. Hands-on experience coordinating medications, assisting providers as medical scribes, and managing follow-up patient care will provide invaluable service to Grace while simultaneously giving them clinical experience that may well influence their future medical path. Not only will they get to witness Grace’s mission in action on the medical side of things, they will also gain a vast understanding that Grace is more than medicine. Caring for our patients’ spiritual, mental, dental and social services needs will illustrate how they can become patient advocates in their future practices.

 When asked in a pre-program survey, Chelsea Han, University of Florida grad with a BA in English on the Pre-PA track, responded that she is “super excited for the Lunch & Learns, but also just getting to know my family interns, Grace Staff, and other volunteers who help make fulfilling Grace's mission possible! I have truly never met so many amazing people in the span of 7 hours like I did during Orientation and I think that part made me most excited to have this opportunity to intern with Grace. Additionally, hearing patient stories of how lives have been changed at Grace made me excited to be a small part in fulfilling the mission of Grace as an intern.”

 We also gratefully acknowledge and thank the VoLo Foundation for sponsoring our Gap Year Intern program, enabling us to provide invaluable clinical experience to these amazing future healthcare providers.

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