Local Health Leaders and the Legal Aid Society Team up to Establish Free Medical Clinic in Grundy County
Information For Release
BEERSHEBA SPRINGS, Tenn. July 6, 2011 – Kentucky physician Dr. Garrett Adams grew up vacationing in Beersheba Springs. His family has spent summers there for six generations. When he prepared to retire, Adams knew he wanted to give back to the community that he loved so much. He approached local leaders about establishing a volunteer-run, free medical clinic for those with no medical insurance, and plans for the Beersheba Springs Medical Clinic were born.
“I knew that I wanted to open a free health clinic, I just didn’t know how to establish it as a nonprofit organization,” Adams said. “Since my clinic wasn’t about turning a profit, I certainly didn’t have the funds to hire someone to handle this complex process for me.”
Jessica Johnson Jernigan, a paralegal at the Legal Aid Society Tullahoma office and member of the Grundy County Health Council, heard about Adams’ plans at a council meeting. “The clinic needed help getting off the ground, and I thought that the Legal Aid Society could help. I contacted Legal Aid Society attorney Neil McBride and he helped the clinic gain the non-profit status it needed to open,” Jernigan said.
The Legal Aid Society is the largest nonprofit law firm in Tennessee. It gives free civil legal aid to people who have nowhere else to turn.
In explaining why the Legal Aid Society helps local community organizations, McBride said, “We can help only a small fraction of the people who come to us for representation. By assisting community leaders to establish a free clinic, we can help far more people than by giving advice to another 10 or 20 people who have problems with TennCare or Medicare.”
Adams added, “In the roughly seven months that we’ve been open, we’ve given free medical care to hundreds of Grundy County residents who have no health insurance.”
Contact: Jeff Bradford/Erin Gagnon, 615 515 4888, info@bradfordgrp.com
About Beersheba Springs Medical Clinic:
The Beersheba Springs Medical Clinic opened November 23, 2010. A physician's assistant and an office manager are employed full-time at the clinic—all physicians and nurses work on a volunteer basis. For more information visit www.beershebaclinic.org.
About The Legal Aid Society:
The Legal Aid Society gives free civil legal aid to people who have nowhere else to turn. It has 34 attorneys working out of eight offices in Clarksville, Columbia, Cookeville, Gallatin, Murfreesboro, Nashville, Oak Ridge, and Tullahoma. The Legal Aid Society is funded in part by United Way. The Nashville Pro Bono Program is a joint venture of the Nashville Bar Association and the Legal Aid Society.
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