Shepherd's Hand continues growth

Shepherd’s Hand Free Clinic has a mission to provide comprehensive health care for those who can’t access care. Last year, that resulted in more than 10,000 volunteer hours donated to the clinic and about 975 people being served through medical and dental visits.

“2014 was a big year of growth and change for us,” said Meg Erickson, executive director of the clinic.

Shepherd’s Hand, which operates out of Christ Lutheran Church, was able to help more people than ever before last year. In particular, the clinic added dental services and expanded its service area valleywide.

“We can now provide care for a whole new group of people that hadn’t been able to access the clinic before,” Erickson said.

Shepherd’s Hand provides care for people who are at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level and do not qualify for other services such as Medicaid and Medicare. The clinic, along with a community meal, operates each Monday night at the church.

Erickson said the dental program exceeded expectations with 25 volunteer dentists and additional dental staff volunteering, along with creating a referral network.

“Our initial goal was to get people out of pain,” she said. “We focused on treating acute dental issues. People in our patient population historically go to the hospital emergency room when faced with an acute dental problem. This is less than ideal both for the patient and the hospital. The free clinic offers an alternative.”

The ongoing goal, she noted, is to add preventative care to the dental clinic and continue to upgrade equipment.

In addition, the free community meal that is served in conjunction with the clinic served an average of 100 meals every Monday night for a total of 4,200 meals during 2014.

Shepherd’s Hand has also added a wellness program in 2012 and more recently a literacy program.

The wellness program provides support through volunteer health coaches for those looking to have a healthier lifestyle. Shepherd’s Hand began a partnership with Literacy Volunteers of Flathead County by setting up a mobile library and provide a variety of literary services.

Erickson said the additional services are about providing support so people can make small changes in their life in order to optimize their health.

“We don’t want just focus on what isn’t working in someone’s life, we want to care for the whole person support and encouraging positive change,” she said. “When a person is able to make a change in one area that they are struggling it often sets into motion positive change in other areas of their life as well.

More than 10,000 volunteer hours were donated through those serving as cooks, nurses, doctors, dentists, drivers, pharmacists, hygienists and teachers, according to the nonprofit’s annual report.

Erickson said those volunteers, more than 200 people, are just as important as those served at the clinic.

“One of our core values is to provide a meaningful place for people to serve,” Erickson said. “We provide an opportunity for people to connect with each other and create a stronger community.”

Volunteers, along with in-kind donations, is one of the reasons that Shepherd’s Hand is able to assist so many individuals. The value of services given in 2014 totaled just over $1.1 million, while expenses were just under $180,000 for the year, according to the nonprofit.

The Shepherd’s Hand endowment has passed the $1 million mark. The permanent endowment fund was launched in 2012 with the goal of strengthening the infrastructure of the clinic and ensuring future sustainability.

Donations continue to come to the clinic in many forms. The Pin and Brew coffee kiosk began in 2012 donating 100 percent of its profits to the clinic. Last year alone, the coffee kiosk donated about $20,000.

“I think that is an amazing story of community support,” Erickson said. “It’s a great partnership. It’s also wonderful that people have a place where they can go to support us on a daily basis.”

The need for care in our community is great, Erickson noted, and, Shepherd’s Hand will continue to work hard to meet that need.

“We want to build partnerships,” Erickson said. “We want to be relevant in the community — as the needs change and shift, we also want to change where our resources and efforts are directed.”