LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A special health center in Little Rock is uplifting clients through medicine and ministry.
Lee Wilbur, physician, and founder of Divine Mercy Health Center (DMHC), continues their mission to create healthier individuals.
“I just give glory to God. This is a dream come true. This is an answered prayer," Wilbur said. "Divine Mercy Health Center offers a wider range of services for the entire family, from pediatric to geriatric. We not only offer comprehensive primary care, we offer mental health as well. In addition to that, we offer addiction peer support, recovery, and more services are coming."
One thing that makes this clinic so special is that no matter your ability to pay, no one gets turned away.
For those with insurance, DMHC can bill the insurance company; however, the clinic also has a membership model.
"That bundles your services. So for a very, very low monthly cost, we are including six primary care visits a year. You can also pay for just your initial visit," Wilbur said. "We also have fundraising for patients that qualify to be extremely impoverished, that's where some of our fundraising comes in. A stipend fund so that for those who qualify, we will be able to cover your primary care for a year if you're extremely impoverished.
This model of medical care has been at the forefront for Wilbur for years since they started with medical missions in at-risk neighborhoods.
He added that they've learned some of the greatest contributors are social determinants and in Little Rock alone, the life expectancy difference is 18.4 years.
If you grow up in one of the most at-risk neighborhoods versus the least at-risk neighborhoods, you are expected to die 18.4 years sooner.
“I'm a board-certified emergency physician, and so we're basically the front window into the health care system. There's a lot of brokenness in the system, those that are disadvantaged, those that are in poverty, those that are in hunger, housing issues, and transportation issues, those disadvantages make it very difficult to achieve good health outcomes." Wilbur said. "I've always wanted to do something about that. I've always wanted to provide good care and a system by which anybody can be seen.”
Providing good care also means having a staff who understands the mission and for registered nurse, Jennifer Gill, she she didn’t second guess filling a position at Divine Mercy Health Center.
“Everything that we do, we do because it's in our hearts to help other people, and that's given to us by Christ himself. So we just kind of take that and make it tangible for other people to see," Gill said.
The clinic sits at the rear of the Mosaic Church building, intentionally located at 6221 Colonel Glen Road, along South University Avenue, an underserved community.
Wilbur said that Mosaic was praying for a health clinic and DHMC prayed for a relationship with a community-based organization that has everything that Mosaic has— and it all came together.
"It's a wonderful value-added relationship for both of us. We will serve not only the patients of mosaic, but the whole patients of Little Rock, including 72204, and 72209, and really, anybody who needs to come to us, we're here for them," Wilbur said.
It is filled with equipment and tools to give each patient a comfortable experience and more importantly, covered with love.
“We actually had a blessing and a dedication ceremony before we put the drywall up. So all these walls and all these studs are covered in inspirational writings, in scripture. We had volunteers and pastors come through here, so the concrete, the studs, and everything else are covered in inspirational messages. So you are walking through blessed space," he said.
In this season and the ones that follow, their motto will remain the same, "Have Mercy. Give Health."
“We're all called to help, regardless of where you come from or your means. We all have time talent or treasure. This isn't all about donations and giving money, but we all have time talent, and treasure, and we are all made to be merciful," Wilbur said.
For those looking to help in DMHC efforts, you can volunteer for or donate to their campaign. You can support one person's primary care for $300 a year.
For $25 a month, a patient can get six primary care visits, mental health, and labs for one person, contributing to spiritual health and mental health as well.
"When we first got started, we had two questions that we asked our team to be inspired by. The first question is, what did healthcare look like at the time of Christ? And the answer was, neighborhoods took care of each other. Communities took care of each other. Let's get back to that," he added. "The second question was, if Christ came back right now and took over the healthcare system in America, how would he do it? And let's do it that way."