The Good Samaritan Health Center
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Dr. Bill Warren:
Hello, this is Bill Warren, I am the founder of the Good Samaritan Health Center, and I get to be the pediatrician here serving our children. One thing I think that is really remarkable about the neighborhood where we serve is that on average our patients live 13 fewer years than those who live in an affluent part of North Atlanta. One of our goals at the Good Samaritan Health Center is trying to shrink that gap.
Patient Marcia Emerson:
Hi, I'm Marcia, and I'm here at Good Sam, and I am really excited about what Good Sam has done for me for the past couple of years. I started out with my numbers very high for my diabetes, and just recently I found out that my diabetes, A1-C, has gone to 6.6
Dr. Bill Warren:
Many of the patients we see just do not have access to healthcare. We are their doctors and dentists. We care for people who would ordinarily would not have care if it were not for the Good Samaritan Health Center.
The Good Samaritan Health Center
The Good Samaritan Health Center offers primary care, dental, behavioral, nutritional and fitness services for the whole family. We are a charitable healthcare facility located on Atlanta's westside. Patient's pay for services based on their level of income. We also dedicate one day of our clinic to serving the health needs of Atlanta's homeless population, free of charge to these patients. We are in our 20th year of serving the health and wellness needs of Atlanta's underserved community.
For many the access to quality healthcare like regular check-ups and exams, prenatal care, dental visits, health education and counseling all seem, though sometimes burdensome, a necessity to living a well-balanced life. Too often, however, families must make a choice between the basics of food and shelter or preventive healthcare that could not only change their lives, but many times save them.
The Good Samaritan Health Center exists to remove the burden of that decision from families, creating a place where they can receive the highest quality care without sacrificing the basic necessities of life. Good Sam serves individuals and families who have the least access to healthcare and are at the highest risk of having serious health issues remain undiagnosed and untreated.
The Center offers medical, dental, health education, mental health, and social services. Patients pay on a reduced sliding fee scale based on income and household size with the remaining costs provided by donations. At The Good Samaritan Health Center, the entire family receives quality healthcare in an atmosphere of dignity and respect, regardless of race, ethnicity, or religion.
Your purpose and calling in life is often described as the place where your greatest passion meets the worlds deepest needs. For Dr. Bill Warren this idea led to his life calling, and ultimately the founding of The Good Samaritan Health Center.
In 1995, Dr. Bill Warren began to feel God stir in his heart to meet the needs of people in the City of Atlanta with his greatest passion, healthcare. Leaving his successful pediatric practice in Sandy Springs, Dr. Warren began serving "the least of these" out of a spare room in a local Church. As often happens when people start partnering with God in His mission, things began to grow rapidly and quickly outgrew Dr. Warrens capacity. Therefore in 1998 The Good Samaritan Health Center was formed and opened for service in 1999 in downtown Atlanta with a staff of eight and a handful of volunteers.
The growth wasn't over however for the team of Good Sam and the work they were doing in Atlanta. So, after 10 years of growth and service in downtown Atlanta, The Center relocated to an expanded facility on Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway in 2009. A full-time staff of 40 and 400 volunteers work together to provide high quality medical, dental, mental health, specialty, and health education services to individuals and families in Atlanta that could not otherwise afford it.
As we continue to grow and expand our services to impact better those who need it most in Atlanta, we are encouraged by the constant support from individuals, corporations, Churches, families, and grants that help us fulfill our mission of bringing quality healthcare to people who otherwise would never be able to afford it.
