January 13. 2010
M artin L uther K ing J r
2010 s p e c /a / e a t 1/on
Page 41
In the Footsteps o f Martin Luther King Jr.
continued
from page 36
they would be willing to lend a
hand. They were. They donated
enough medical surplus supplies
to get the clinic going. She also
managed to snag a few grants
and donations to keep it running.
hypertension or diabetes, o r have
lab work done.
The clinic, which has about 20
volunteer doctors, provides ba
sic services that prevent a per
fectly treatable condition, like
diabetes, from turning into a
costly trip to the emergency room,
cushy waiting room and new
exam rooms.
Looking back. Smith recalls
Ginsberg giving her a quizzical
look when she pitched the idea of
opening a clinic after having just
met her. But Smith said she had no
reservations about making such
an audacious proposal because
— Dr. Jill Ginsberg
she knew that if it was meant to be
God would enlist her.
North Martin Luther King Jr. been newly refurbished. For the
“I thought if I could do what I
Boulevard. A fire had decimated 30 patients who rely on it, the could do, someone else would do
the building in 2007, and has facility is a big upgrade with a what they could do,” said Smith.
They don’t teach you how to
do this in medical school. We
sort of put one foot in front in
foot o f the other.
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photo by M ark
W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Pastor Mary Overstreet Smith opens the door to the
North by Northeast Community Health Center, which she
co-founded with Dr. Jill Ginsberg in 2006.
“They don’t teach you how to
do this in medical school,” said
Ginsberg of the leg-work needed
to get a non-profit clinic up and
running. “We sort of put one foot
in front in foot of the other.”
The first building that the clinic
operated out of was humble an
nex next to Sm ith’s church. It
was so cramped that people had
to wait outside to get treatment,
and was down-right frigid in the
colder months.
“It was never meant to be
used that way,” said Ginsberg of
the building.
But the patients who relied on
it were grateful to have pre
scriptions filled, get checkups on
said Ginsberg.
When Rita Moore lost her job
working for an electrical equip
ment company, she began com
ing to the clinic to get her pre
scription for high blood pressure
filled and to get treatment for
acid reflux.
“I would be messed up,” said
Moore, if she didn't have the
clinic. “I would be in the hospital
right now.”
Moore said the staff, although
volunteers, genuinely care about
her well-being, and have helped
connect her with specialists.
Late last summer, the clinic
moved into a new facility next
door to the Garl ington Center on
Paid for and aqMLorized by Wyden For Senate
P.O. B o a t3 f8 • Portland, OR 9 > 2 0 & /