Stories

After 30 years of hard work installing tile and carpeting, Debbie’s husband Robert was injured in a car accident and had to go on disability, causing them to lose their health insurance. They couldn’t afford their blood pressure medication, so they stopped taking it for three months. Robert began feeling worse, and knew something was very wrong.

That’s when he came to Grace Clinic. Tests showed that his blood pressure was dangerously high. He was in ventricular tachycardia, meaning his heart was beating so fast that it was approaching a crisis level. Grace Clinic providers sent Robert to a local hospital immediately for emergency treatment, where he was kept overnight. There, his blood pressure was stabilized.

He and Debbie both followed up at Grace Clinic to manage their high blood pressure, as well as Robert’s diabetes. They also learned how to access discounted medications, which is critical to their long-term wellness.

“When you were always able to take care of yourself, you have to stuff your pride down to go to a free clinic,” Debbie said. “But everyone there made us feel like human beings again. They gave us our dignity back.” Added Robert, “That first visit ended up saving my life.”

Imagine if you had to flee for your life … then were knocked down by severe emotional turbulence. This was Nicolasa’s story.

Nicolasa was working as a government official in her native country when her life was threatened. She escaped to the United States. But once here, a series of circumstances added to her emotional trauma. Nicolasa’s self-esteem plunged. She became depressed, went for weeks with very little sleep, and suffered from panic attacks.

Once she began receiving mental health counseling from Grace Clinic, though, she saw a glimmer of hope. The counselor gave her specific, practical assignments based on cognitive behavioral therapy. For example, replace negative thoughts with positive ones. Find a reason to laugh. Give yourself a gift that represents your value.

Practicing these self-help strategies shared by a caring, experienced counselor, Nicolasa has come a long way. She felt more confident. Her concentration and sleep improved.

“I was in darkness before, but now it feels like I’ve walked into the light,” she said.

What do you do when a tattoo becomes seriously infected, but you can’t afford a doctor’s visit?

This is what happened to a patient we’ll call “James.”

James is a journeyman industrial painter who needed his trade union to schedule jobs for him. In the past few months, jobs were few and far between. With his income dwindling, James filed for unemployment, losing his health insurance in the process. Eventually, he landed a new job with an independent business, but it doesn’t offer insurance.

A family member had given James a tattoo in honor of his daughter. James noticed that his arm was becoming red and swollen. With no extra money for a doctor’s visit, James felt he had no choice but to put up with the infection, hoping it would get better with time.

Good thing he didn’t.

James heard about Grace Clinic and made a no-cost appointment. The diagnosis? A staph infection—which can turn deadly if the bacteria invade deeper into the body.

James was given a discount for an antibiotics prescription. A followup visit showed that his arm had healed well.

[Photo: James with Medical Director Kathy Brault.]

Richard’s story shows how even a college-educated and highly skilled person can suffer an unexpected downturn. In 2018, he moved from Butler, Pennsylvania to take a job in the Tri-Cities as an Operations Database Specialist for a Hanford contractor. But once he started work, a new manager cancelled the contract, saying that the scope of work was no longer necessary.

Suddenly, Richard found himself without a job or medical benefits, 2,500 miles away from the home he had recently left. With a bachelor’s degree in computing and accounting and one in education, and despite a diligent job search, no offers came his way. After living out of his car for a while, he moved to the Tri-City Union Gospel Mission to get back on his feet. Staff there referred him to Grace Clinic.

Clinic providers welcomed him and found many ways to help. Over several months, Richard received treatment for painful gout in his feet and high blood pressure. He also got dental care and osteopathic manipulation for degenerative disc disease from a past car accident. Counseling provided further encouragement.

Richard found ways to give back. Once during the past winter’s heavy snowfall, he grabbed a shovel from his car and cleared snow from the Clinic’s long sidewalk and parking lot entrance.

By June 2019, he had saved enough money to fly back to attend his daughter’s graduation in Pennsylvania. He had a job interview lined up there as well.

The resources he found in the Tri-Cities were like no other, he said. “Between Grace Clinic and the Mission, it really restored hope for me,” he said. “I have gone to places in other states where people look at you with a condescending attitude, but everyone at the Clinic is respectful and supportive. Knowing that there are people who really do care makes a big difference.”

Mark Brault has been described as a selfless leader who demonstrates his compassion for those struggling in the community.

A Certified Public Accountant and former business owner, Mark joined the board of Grace Clinic in 2006 as treasurer. Nearly a decade later, he became its chief executive officer. He led the transition of the Clinic from its all volunteer roots into a standalone medical clinic.

Mark convinced Kadlec and Trios hospitals to send their third-year residents (doctors) to work at Grace Clinic for a four-week rotation. This expanded healthcare access for uninsured, low-income residents in Benton and Franklin Counties and Burbank. It also improved the residents’ knowledge and experience in working with this demographic.

Mark partnered with the Tri-City Union Gospel Mission, helping with its health and wellness program for the homeless, including a new respite bed program for homeless men and women. He persuaded the Benton-Franklin Health District to let Grace Clinic expand into the District’s former, 10,000-square-foot building.

Mark is regarded as one of the most knowledgeable people in the region on the complexity and pitfalls of the U.S. health care system. He is vice president of the Kennewick Public Hospital District, served on the Benton Franklin Community Health Alliance, and was a charter member of the Columbia Basin Non-Profit Association. He also served for ten years on the board of United Way of Benton and Franklin Counties and currently is on the boards of Columbia Industries and the Public Market.

He was named the 2018 Kennewick, Washington Man of the Year. In 2022, he was named Tri-Citian of the Year for the Richland, Pasco, and Kennewick area. “If I am able to make a contribution to the community, there is nothing that means more to me,” he said.

Monisha Ramey is an intern mental health counselor at Grace Clinic. She uses an approach called cognitive behavioral therapy to treat issues like post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and trauma.

One example of trauma is domestic abuse. “On average, a victim will try to leave their abuser seven to ten times before they leave permanently,” Monisha said. “They often lack self-esteem and have financial limitations that make them more vulnerable to putting up with the abuse.” Monisha helps them understand what constitutes abuse and how they can change their choices.

After having worked in social services for more than 15 years, Monisha is pursuing her Master of Social Work degree with an emphasis in Advanced Clinical Practice. She is a former law enforcement officer and an Army veteran.

Audiologist Dr. Curtis Woolf evaluates, diagnoses and treats hearing loss, balance issues caused by dizziness, and tinnitus, as well as prescribing and fitting hearing aids.

You’ll typically find him at his “day job” at Kadlec Clinic in Richland, Washington. But he also volunteers at Grace Clinic to see patients who otherwise wouldn’t have access to health care.

People without insurance may put off seeing an audiologist because of the potential cost burden. But Dr. Woolf is able to help them at Grace Clinic, at no charge. “Some people here can be treated right away and walk out cured, like those with certain kinds of positional vertigo,” he said.

It’s not unusual for patients come in thinking they can’t afford hearing aids, which can run into thousands of dollars. But Dr. Woolf can refer some people for inexpensive, over-the-counter hearing aids. He also has access to donated, refurbished hearing aids that he can re-program for other patients.

Dr. Woolf appreciates how the audiology and medical sides of Grace Clinic work as a team. For example, he may send a vertigo patient to the medical side to check for migraines. Doctors on the medical side can send patients with possible hearing loss or dizziness to him for an audiology analysis.

[Photo: Dr. Woolf adjusts a patient’s hearing aid.]

Grace Clinic patients who are having health issues with their hair, skin, or nails can see Jennifer McCullugh. She treats all skin conditions as well as skin cancer surveillance and removal.

Jennifer is a nurse practitioner certified in dermatology, who has owned Mid-Columbia Dermatology for years.

When volunteering at Grace Clinic, she especially enjoys giving a little extra time to her patients who are seniors or veterans, “people who need someone to visit with.”

“The skin is the largest organ; anything can affect it,” she said. “I like how complicated dermatology health conditions can be, because I like to figure things out.”