Part III: Founding Green Country Free Clinic

This is the third and last article in a series about how Green Country Free Clinic began.

One of the hardest things about starting the clinic in 1990 was finding a facility, because we didn’t have the funds for our own place. During our first three years we rented space from another agency called Family Care Services, at 1820 W. Hensley in Bartlesville.

They closed their doors at 5 p.m., so we came in at 4:30 and operated our clinic from 5:00 to 9 p.m. They allowed us to use some filing cabinets and a cabinet to store our medications.

For three years, we were open one night a week for acute patients only, people with common short-term illnesses such as colds, flu, earaches and so on. During each clinic, we worked with two volunteer doctors and could see 25 patients.

Besides getting the clinic’s space, gaining the support of volunteer doctors was also crucial to our operation.

I initially asked them to help in a speech I gave to the local medical society at one of their monthly meetings, but more importantly I wrote a letter to each and every single physician in Bartlesville. In it, I stated that I would be calling and following that up with a brief visit to explain about the clinic and find out their level of willingness to be involved.

So, I followed up with a visit to every doctor in this town, close to 80 in all. With rare exceptions, the response was very, very supportive.

One physician, who was semi-retired, told me I would never get the doctors to volunteer. I guess he got proved wrong.

Not only have doctors and nurses volunteered their medical expertise and time, but the medical community has given us space and enabled us to eventually own our facility.

In 1993, Jane Phillips Medical Center allowed us to move into one of their buildings, which had became vacant when an Oklahoma University Medical School residency program decided to close its doors in Bartlesville. I spoke with one member of the board of directors at Jane Phillips Medical Center and pleaded a case to use the building for the clinic, and won.

That building was located about a block west of where we presently are. Once we moved there in 1993, we were able to really start growing because we had access to our space 24/7. We were soon able to be open five days a week.

Then in early 2001, Jane Phillips Medical Center wanted to use our site for another purpose. They worked with us to enable relocating to our present space at 500 S.E. Frank Phillips Boulevard, which they also owned.

They made an agreement with us that if we could raise the money to remodel and expand it, then they would deed the building over to us.

It took about six months for us to write grants and raise half a million dollars for the building renovation. It took another 10 months to complete the construction work, and then we moved into our own, permanent space here in 2002.

We are very fortunate because the Bartlesville community, including the medical community, has supported the clinic throughout our 20 year history.

You can support something for a couple of months or a year or two, but to stay in support for 20 years says a lot. That’s a long-term commitment.

We at the clinic are most grateful.

Tagged as: 500 S.E. Frank Phillips Boulevard, founding Green Country Free Clinic, free medical clinic Bartlesville Oklahoma, Green Country Free Clinic 20th anniversary, Jane Phillips Medical Center, volunteer doctors