A prescription of prayer: How faith drives Hope Clinic’s mission to care for those in need
A prescription of prayer: How faith drives Hope Clinic’s mission to care for those in need
Jessica Geller has a deep-seated belief rooted in faith that everyone deserves high-quality, affordable health care.
“When we serve the sick, we’re serving God,” she said, referencing the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats from Matthew 25:35-46.
That’s a guiding principle behind Hope Clinic, the nonprofit she is the chief development officer for. Its mission is to provide quality medical care to the uninsured, underinsured and underserved in Gwinnett County while showing them kindness and respect.
“We try to be a medical home for those who would otherwise go without any kind of health care,” she said. “We like for our patients to feel at home. Our goal is that they might feel Christ’s love through us serving them.”
Hope Clinic was founded in 2002 by Dr. William Martin, Jessica’s stepfather, whom she calls Dad. The clinic was his response when he noticed people in the community falling through the cracks of the medical system, not being properly treated for their chronic conditions including diabetes and heart disease — medical issues that can be expensive to treat if they’re not properly addressed and even life-threatening.
“I always admired his love and willingness to treat anybody regardless of their circumstances,” Jessica said.
Hope Clinic relies on grants and donations to cover about half of its operating costs. The rest comes from modest patient fees (about $30 a visit) and from Medicare and Medicaid payments.
But at the core of it all is prayer. More than money, it’s what has kept the clinic going.
“We’ve seen God work some miraculous stuff,” Jessica said. “For instance, probably 10-15 years ago, we didn’t have enough money to pay our staff, so we prayed about it. And somebody just walked in off the street and gave us exactly how much money we needed. We were in awe.”
Prayer is a common practice among the close-knit staff toward the patients they see, many of whom they’ve developed close relationships with over the years.
“We believe that the clinic is God’s; we don’t even see it as ours,” Jessica said. “We see Him work all kinds of miracles through the clinic, whether it’s with our patients or staff or community.”
When Dr. Martin passed away in 2023, Jessica said she was worried that the clinic would not survive. He had been a pillar in the community for over 50 years and thought that with him gone, people might stop supporting or coming through the clinic’s doors. She and the staff prayed for generosity and sustainment through the transition.
The immediate way those prayers were answered was through Dr. Michael Sineway, who is now the clinic’s medical director.
“He just walked in the front doors about two months after my dad died and said he wanted to make sure my dad’s legacy continues,” Jessica said.
Those prayers also paved the way for the current step-out in faith — a capital campaign called Pathways to Hope to raise money to bring on the staff to support two more doctors, renovate the building and expand mental health services.
“It’s a big jump to take that much on,” Jessica said. “So that’s what we’re praying about right now.”
As Hope Clinic navigates this new journey, Jessica said she knows they’ve got the backing, prayers and encouragement from the Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia, which has been an important relationship to the clinic for many years.
“They’re more than a financial relationship,” she said. “They’re friendly faces; they’re cheerleaders.”
One of many examples of this care in action she witnessed was during the Covid pandemic. As a medical practice, Hope Clinic decided to stay open. Proactively, the Community Foundation reached out and asked Jessica what they could do to help support the clinic.
“I was just amazed. They started calling people, they started trying to help us find PPE,” she said.
“It’s nice to have a tight-knit community that works together, and I think they bring that to our community. They actually keep us nonprofits together. We build a lot of relationships by being involved with Community Foundation.”
A prescription of prayer: How faith drives Hope Clinic’s mission to care for those in need
A prescription of prayer: How faith drives Hope Clinic’s mission to care for those in need
Jessica Geller has a deep-seated belief rooted in faith that everyone deserves high-quality, affordable health care.
“When we serve the sick, we’re serving God,” she said, referencing the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats from Matthew 25:35-46.
That’s a guiding principle behind Hope Clinic, the nonprofit she is the chief development officer for. Its mission is to provide quality medical care to the uninsured, underinsured and underserved in Gwinnett County while showing them kindness and respect.
“We try to be a medical home for those who would otherwise go without any kind of health care,” she said. “We like for our patients to feel at home. Our goal is that they might feel Christ’s love through us serving them.”
Hope Clinic was founded in 2002 by Dr. William Martin, Jessica’s stepfather, whom she calls Dad. The clinic was his response when he noticed people in the community falling through the cracks of the medical system, not being properly treated for their chronic conditions including diabetes and heart disease — medical issues that can be expensive to treat if they’re not properly addressed and even life-threatening.
“I always admired his love and willingness to treat anybody regardless of their circumstances,” Jessica said.
Hope Clinic relies on grants and donations to cover about half of its operating costs. The rest comes from modest patient fees (about $30 a visit) and from Medicare and Medicaid payments.
But at the core of it all is prayer. More than money, it’s what has kept the clinic going.
“We’ve seen God work some miraculous stuff,” Jessica said. “For instance, probably 10-15 years ago, we didn’t have enough money to pay our staff, so we prayed about it. And somebody just walked in off the street and gave us exactly how much money we needed. We were in awe.”
Prayer is a common practice among the close-knit staff toward the patients they see, many of whom they’ve developed close relationships with over the years.
“We believe that the clinic is God’s; we don’t even see it as ours,” Jessica said. “We see Him work all kinds of miracles through the clinic, whether it’s with our patients or staff or community.”
When Dr. Martin passed away in 2023, Jessica said she was worried that the clinic would not survive. He had been a pillar in the community for over 50 years and thought that with him gone, people might stop supporting or coming through the clinic’s doors. She and the staff prayed for generosity and sustainment through the transition.
The immediate way those prayers were answered was through Dr. Michael Sineway, who is now the clinic’s medical director.
“He just walked in the front doors about two months after my dad died and said he wanted to make sure my dad’s legacy continues,” Jessica said.
Those prayers also paved the way for the current step-out in faith — a capital campaign called Pathways to Hope to raise money to bring on the staff to support two more doctors, renovate the building and expand mental health services.
“It’s a big jump to take that much on,” Jessica said. “So that’s what we’re praying about right now.”
As Hope Clinic navigates this new journey, Jessica said she knows they’ve got the backing, prayers and encouragement from the Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia, which has been an important relationship to the clinic for many years.
“They’re more than a financial relationship,” she said. “They’re friendly faces; they’re cheerleaders.”
One of many examples of this care in action she witnessed was during the Covid pandemic. As a medical practice, Hope Clinic decided to stay open. Proactively, the Community Foundation reached out and asked Jessica what they could do to help support the clinic.
“I was just amazed. They started calling people, they started trying to help us find PPE,” she said.
“It’s nice to have a tight-knit community that works together, and I think they bring that to our community. They actually keep us nonprofits together. We build a lot of relationships by being involved with Community Foundation.”
