Agape Clinic

The Agape Clinic, housed in the basement of Grace Church, was started in 1983 to serve the health care needs of the immigrant population surrounding the church. Bobbie Baxter, M.D., Charles Kemp, FNP, FAAN, volunteer physicians, nurse practitioners, and others serve patients four days a week. Services include immunizations for children, treatment for chronic and short-term illness, laboratory tests, and such specialty care as psychiatry, dermatology, asthma, women’s health, neurology, and pediatrics.

When the clinic opened, patients were examined in spaces partitioned with sheets in basement classrooms. In 1996, a capital campaign provided funds to renovate the basement. The renovation created a 2,500-square-foot, five-exam-room facility complete with a small pharmacy and waiting room. Today the clinic serves more than 3,500 patients yearly and maintains partnerships with area universities and other community organizations to provide Agape patients with primary care, specialty care, social services, and community health events such as mammography screenings.

The value of services provided by the clinic exceeds $3.5 million a year. Patients make donations as they are able. The remaining operating funds are provided by individual donors, foundations, and other organizations.