Satcher/St. Michael's Clinic opens with praise, hope

Nov. 7—The Monday morning ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Dr. David Satcher/St. Michael's Clinic and Community Center had more of the feel of a church's praise celebration than the opening of a medical clinic.

"That's the way it should be," commented Anniston Mayor Jack Draper at the conclusion of the hour-long event attended by an overflow crowd of more than 150, with most sitting on what used to be the former Boys and Girls' Club basketball court.

The former Glen Addie Community Center located at 426 Mulberry Drive has now been reimagined to replace the St. Michael's Medical Clinic on West 18th Street which originally opened in 1988. Part of that reimagining was visible as those attending could see the computers lining the walls which will be used as part of a learning center for which the city has pledged to provide staffing.

There will also be expanded medical and mental health options with the new clinic moving to a four-days-a-week schedule beginning Dec. 1 and five-days-a-week sometime in 2024, as well as new and modern laboratory capabilities and dispensary services.

The new clinic is the result of a unique partnership between St. Michael's, RMC Health System and the city of Anniston and bears the name of native son Satcher who served as the nation's 16th Surgeon General.

City Manager Steven Folks commented before the ceremony the new clinic is "the accomplishment of which I am most proud."

"This is a great day," Folks said in his opening welcome. "This is the day that the Lord has made."

He also paid tribute to all those who partnered in making the clinic a reality.

"Without us coming together saying we have to have a unified front to help those who can't help themselves, this could not have happened," Folks said. "If we don't take care of the most valuable asset we have — our people — I think we have failed."

The Calhoun County Commission added to the celebration as Commission President Danny Shears, District 1 Commissioner Fred Wilson and County Attorney Gloria Floyd presented a $10,000 check to the clinic from the county.

Shears thanked the clinic's namesake for "all you have done for America and for Anniston, Alabama."

Dr. Almena Free, RMC Health System vice-president of medical affairs, walked to the podium and started with a loud whoop.

"This is awesome, but without the Lord in our lives we can't do anything," Free said. "With the Lord, anything is possible."

"The staff of RMC is truly happy this event has occurred," she said. "Next to [RMC President and CEO] Louis Bass' computer, he has a copy of The Anniston Star story about 'RMC offering trials.'"

"That was where Louis and many people in the RMC system talked about a community health care system in west Anniston," Free said. "This is more than just that. This is an awesome situation here. We have all come together in a collaboration that is wonderful."

"This clinic sets on a hill and serves as a beacon of light to the underserved and the underrepresented and it also reaches out to you to bring in your resources — money, equipment, knowledge, teach people how to take care of themselves — these are the things we need to do as a collaboration," she said.

Another native son of Anniston recalled having his aunt living in Glen Addie Apartments and his time as a youngster in the community.

Kenneth Free, state field officer of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, praised the city leadership for making the decision to use the $355,000 in Community Development Block Grant funding to assist in establishing the new clinic.

"I left Anniston when I was 17 and was honored to be able to come back to Alabama," Free said. "Being a part of Anniston and to be able to see what Anniston is doing here has been magnificent."

"This is a huge change from what we stepped into a little over a year ago," said Shawn McWhorter, Hurst Construction project manager. "We are thankful to have been a part of this and I wish this facility the best."

Dorsey Architects and Associates president Clay Dorsey said his firm has enjoyed working with the clinic staff on the project.

"The challenge we faced was renovating this existing facility to accommodate the spatial needs of St. Michael's Medical Clinic," Dorsey said. "Our solution was to add much-needed space regarding the waiting room, lobby and restroom areas."

"You can see the results of the sacrifices and hard work of all who were involved in making this first-class facility come to reality located at the heart of the African American community to serve the low-income, uninsured health needs of all the citizens in Anniston," he said.

Nanette Mudiam, the clinic's executive director, could not contain her emotions as she spoke of the new facility she will now oversee and the people it will serve.

"Your faces really give me hope for what can happen in the city of Anniston," Mudiam said with her voice trembling. "There is a lot of good intention in this room. There is a lot of belief this city can be restored and can have a better future than its past."

She said the new clinic represented "numerous meetings and commitments by so many people."

"I really want to honor the city of Anniston with its commitment to the betterment of our community," Mudiam said.

"I believe this represents a change that is going to happen in this community."

She said while the clinic cannot solve all the city's problematic issues, it can provide "the solution it has."

"What I have is a passion for health care access and I believe health care is a human right and so does my staff," Mudiam said. "We believe in giving people who don't have access to health care just that and do it in a primary care setting where we can prevent issues before they get worse. That is the solution we have."

"Our mission is to provide comprehensive primary health care in the name of Christ in order to address physical, mental and spiritual needs so we can improve health outcomes and quality of life," Mudiam said.

She said there are 15,000 uninsured people in Calhoun County — many who are not offered insurance through their employment.

"There are so many reasons to be unemployed and we don't care why you are unemployed," she said. "If you are low-income and uninsured, we want to assist you. That is our mission. It is our honor to do that in Dr. Satcher's name and we hope the work we do makes him proud and is a good representation of his name in this community."

Ward 3 Councilwoman Ciara Smith, who represents the area in which the clinic is located, recalled entering the building in its former state and "envisioning how it will serve this community."

"What we are doing today is breaking barriers and building bridges for people to have an opportunity for a quality of life," Smith said. "This is also a place where medicine meets academia."

She said the educational services the new facility will provide "can aid in combatting many illnesses that are faced every single day."

Draper said government alone "is not equipped to handle an issue like health care."

"It takes heart," Draper said. "And no single partner you have heard from today could pull this off on its own. It takes all of us working together."

"This should be a model going forward on dealing with the other issues we have in the community. We can accomplish what we want to accomplish by working together," Draper said. "Many have talked about the good Lord's assistance throughout this project. He gets the credit. There is no question He has richly blessed us and His hand has been this project throughout. It was all overseen and guided by Him."

Satcher, whose work and career were lauded throughout the event, was given the opportunity to place the grace notes on what had been said before him as his name was formally placed on the new clinic.

"I think caring for people who are often overlooked and neglected is something we need more of," Satcher said. "I get the feeling that is what we are going to get here. We'll have the work of people who care about people who are often left out and neglected."

"One of the reasons we have so many problems is because we believe we can push some people aside and not worry about them," he said. "This can't go on and I have learned what can happen when people really care about people. What is obvious to me is the people here really care about the people who will be coming here seeking help. They care and that is what makes the difference when you open a clinic like this. I am impressed with their caring and there is no substitute for caring."

The current working hours for the clinic are Wednesdays-Fridays from 8 a.m. until 4 pm. The clinic can be contacted by phone at 256-236-6060 or at its website at www.stmichaelsmedicalclinic.com.

Staff Writer Brian Graves: 256-236-1551.