Health Care Reform Update

Dear Friends,

With health care reform being the primary topic of every television news program and most social gatherings these days, many of you may be wondering how this new legislation affects the need for volunteer medical programs like Shepherd’s Hope.

More than 42 million Americans are uninsured in this country and while a historical health care bill has been passed that will eventually provide coverage for 29-30 million Americans, free clinics like Shepherd’s Hope will continue to serve those who are in need of medical care today and in the future. Shepherd’s Hope is and always will be a program that helps fill the gaps in medical care for the poor, the vulnerable and the disenfranchised. Sadly, we believe there will always be a need for compassionate, affordable care for people in need. But, there is good news too. We believe there will always be people who respond to the call willingly and joyfully to serve those in need.

Currently there are 250,000 uninsured men, women and children living right here in Central Florida. In the past year, Shepherd’s Hope has experienced the biggest influx of patients at our nine Shepherd’s Hope Health Centers, than ever before in our thirteen year history. Although we provided 16,000 free medical visits last year, we still turned away 3,800 people. There are simply more people lining up outside our doors each night than we can treat. With the local unemployment rate over 10%, many people have lost their jobs and subsequently their health insurance. But, they still get sick and they still need their medications.

Since we opened our doors in 1997, Shepherd’s Hope volunteers have provided over 100,000 free medical visits and will continue to serve these patients while the legislative process is underway but still many years away. Although this historic legislation is a first step in providing coverage for some of our patients in the future, full implementation of the legislation does not go into effect until 2014 and at that time there will still be millions of uninsured in the country. Shepherd’s Hope will continue to need the support from our community, our donors, our hospitals and our volunteers to provide the services to our patients.

Shepherd’s Hope Board of Directors and staff, along with our patients are interested to see where this historic legislation will bring the country. Thankfully, our leadership team will have the time we need to plan thoughtfully to the changes to come and we look forward to the future to serve our patients in new and rewarding ways. In the meantime, we will continue to focus on bringing hope and healing to all those who walk through our doors each day.

Thank you for your continued prayers, volunteerism, and support. We continue to be amazed by the miracle work God is doing through people who are simply and lovingly caring for people.

With warm regards,

Dr. William S. Barnes, Founder

Dom Meffe, Board Chair

Cindi Kopelman, President