mercymed of Columbus

Serving People Through Faith, Healing Through Medicine

By Scott Berson

There are some places in Columbus that shine so brightly they make the whole city look more like it’s best self. MercyMed, a healthcare center that provides vital primary care to thousands of uninsured or underinsured residents, is one of those places. Without it, Columbus simply would not be the same.

When MercyMed started out nearly nine years ago, it was a hardscrabble outpost with one doctor and a handful of volunteers who were dedicated to caring for people who may not have been able to get help elsewhere. Now, in the height of the global pandemic, it has a staff of 40, with no plans to slow down in sight. Along with its location at 3702 2nd Ave, it opened a small clinic at Fox Elementary to take care of children.

It’s been a place of healing for the sick, comfort for the suffering, and compassion for the overlooked. During the pandemic, MercyMed tested more than 1,000 people a month, turning on a dime to secure testing machines and set up free screening days. Last year they had 20,000 visits.

MercyMed 3702 2nd Ave.

in Columbus, Ga

“It was started by Dr. Grant Scarborough, and it was very much a mission of his and a ministry. He went to med school so he could serve the poor. He was compelled to do that with his faith. He wanted to share that with people in difficult situations,” said Billy Holbrook, Chief Development Officer at MercyMed.

Holbrook recited MercyMed’s mission statement: MercyMed of Columbus exists to proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and to demonstrate His love by providing affordable, quality healthcare for the physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of the underserved.

Dr. Grant Scarborough

“It’s a marriage of this staff compelled by our faith to provide amazing healthcare to the poor, and it’s a practical service to provide,” Holbrook said.

MercyMed works as a full service primary care health facility. That means they care for families, from kids on up, and patients generally see the same doctor or provider every time. MercyMed is also able to offer some services like counseling, physical therapy, cardiology and some vision care, as well as some imaging services (through the help of generous donors).

MercyMed’s mission is to provide affordable healthcare for the underserved, but that doesn’t mean the visits are free. Instead, patients “invest in their care” by paying on a sliding scale.

“We do a good faith estimate of what your income is, and we’ll put you on a sliding fee scale based on your ability to pay. It starts at $30 and goes up in $10 increments. For the most part, our patients are paying $30 to be seen. About 40-50 percent [of our income] comes from patient reimbursement. Our donors pick the rest, from large corporations to someone sending a check for $20 a month. That’s what keeps us going, that’s how we can pay our doctors,” Holbrook said.

The ability to keep costs low has broadened healthcare access to many people who had no options before, or who would have been forced to attend an expensive hospital emergency room every time they needed care.

“There are a gazillion barriers [to healthcare]. Transportation, insurance, no time off work – the poor health outcome of our greater community, compounded with the covid pandemic, it becomes even more important to be able to respond. We need to be a place that can say “yes,” how can we say “yes” to someone who needs to get in to see a doctor, how can we take care of them? It’s crucial to our mission,” Holbrook said.

The pandemic brought a new level of urgency to MercyMed’s operations in a short time, forcing them to rapidly switch to telemedicine for virtual patient visits.

“We were able to stay in touch as best we could with our patients. We really asked a lot of our staff, and they have responded with resilience in a way that has been extraordinary to see,” Holbrook said. “One of our core values in innovation. Another is advocacy. We came up with an idea for doing popup drive-through testing throughout the summer. The coronavirus response fund gave us a grant for that. We try to make that access there for our patients.”

One way MercyMed has tried to innovate is through providing healthy food as a form of preventive care. The MercyMed farm provides fresh fruit and veggies and sells them at a discount every Friday outside the clinic. During the pandemic, staff went door-to-door dropping off food each day.

“The access we have with folks is one thing and super important, but those other pieces – do they have healthy food? Can they exercise? We try to address those too,” Holbrook said.

picking up groceries

Holbrook said MercyMed is grateful to have received years of support from the community, through donations and volunteering. Without that base, Holbrook said MercyMed’s pandemic response could have been less robust.

“Our community is extraordinarily generous,” Holbrooks said. “It has helped us, even before the pandemic, to be ready for it. When it hit, we were ready to respond because of the kindness to our donors. They help us be able to innovate and adapt to situations in front of us. We acted, because we had the resources to do it.”

Donating to MercyMed is easy from their website, mercymedcolumbus.com. At the top of the site, the “support” tab has options for donating one time or monthly, and you can choose to make a donation in honor of someone. You can also find information on volunteering.

“What’s been impressive to me over time is the way the funds that come in are able to support very impressive professional healthcare providers who want nothing less than the very best for people,” Holbrook said. “To look in the eyes of our staff, you can’t tell if they’re smiling anymore because they’re wearing masks, but the dedication, the buyin to this mission, that is exciting.”

For the patients who come to see MercyMed’s doctors and nurses every month, those smiles, hidden behind masks or not, are a blessing – a place of understanding and care, a family that wants to say “yes.” That family mentality is key to providing a true service, Holbrook said.

“We’re not able to meet every need. We’re not able to help everyone. We’re not able to even serve perfectly. But if we can unite as a family, that can frame us to take care of our family members in the community.”