Doctors volunteering medical service to homeless

Homeless people in Dothan now have a way to get the health care many of them desperately need.

Through a combined effort from Love in Action Ministries, the Alfred Saliba Family Health Clinic and volunteer doctors and assistants, homeless people will be able to get free medical help every Tuesday evening.

The homeless program began Tuesday night at the Alfred Saliba Family Health Clinic, located behind Subway on West Main Street downtown.

Area doctors Steve Stokes and H.L. “Chief” Lassiter are volunteering their time and skills on an alternating basis to provide any basic health needs homeless residents may have, including check-ups and more pressing concerns.

“We have way too many underserved people in this country. This is way too rich a country to have this many people uninsured or underinsured,” said Lassiter, a primary care physician. “I have been looking for some time for some local medical service we could do, and I think a thin thread just sort of weaved itself to me. There's just a need. We've got some talent, and we're very blessed with someone named Jack Sewell of Jack's Drugs who just donated medication to us. I believe God led all of us to cross paths.”

The clinic opens at 5 p.m. on Tuesdays, and both Lassiter and Stokes, an oncologist, will provide their expertise to help as many patients as they can.

“(The homeless) is a group that really needs a lot of help,” Stokes said. “We're just trying to see the people that need to be seen. I do missionary work, and I just feel homeless people are transient, and they might have minor trauma, get beat up, have infections, flu, stuff like that, and that's something I thought I could probably handle. There's a real need for that in this community. That's what we're all supposed to go to school for, to try to help folks.”

Tuesday night, the doctors saw six patients, but both said they expect the number to grow as word gets out.

“I will be shocked if ultimately we don't have more than we can take care of,” Lassiter said. “Typically when the word goes out on things like this, especially in larger cities, they are overwhelmed, and sadly only two of us right now in the whole community have volunteered our services for this. What we hope is that word goes out to the patient population, but also to the people who have the skillsets.”

Stokes said more physicians could allow the clinic to stay open more frequently.

“If we got the manpower, we'd be open as much as we could, as much as they needed us,” Stokes said. “We would love if there are any other physicians in area, nurse practitioners or physicians’ assistants that want to help. The main problem we have right now is transportation. It's hard for people to get out in this bad weather and walk. That's gonna be a big need for us, and another need is a pharmacy. We need some donations of antibiotics and routine stuff. It would really help us a lot.”