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Every day at the Good Samaritan Clinic in Maryville, 100 patients file through the doors where their health care needs are met without regard to whether they can pay.

For the past 13 years that's been the case, and it's taken a network of community support to do it. This year, the clinic that was started by Blount Memorial Hospital became part of Cherokee Health Systems, and while some changes are being implemented, the fact remains people continue to lose their jobs and their health insurance. The Good Samaritan Clinic presses on to fill the gap for those who have nowhere else to turn.

On Dec. 4, Blount County will be treated to a Christmas benefit concert by the Grace Notes Flute Choir as a way to raise money for Good Samaritan Christmas 2009. The concert will be held at the Palace Theater in downtown Maryville, and cost is a $10 minimum donation. All of the money will go to the Good Samaritan Clinic to ease the burdens of the clinic's struggling families.

Trying to hang on

That could include providing heat for a family dealing with cancer or gas for transporting a sick child to his doctor's appointments. Julia Pearce is regional vice president of Cherokee and has been with Good Samaritan from its inception. She said some of the stories of what these families are faced with will break your heart. She doesn't see situations improving immediately because of the slow recovery in the economy.

"Needs haven't changed," Pearce said. "If anything, that has grown based on the economic downturn. We are still here to do everything we can."

Good Samaritan has a paid staff of 20 that provides primary care to both children and adults. The clinic takes appointments and also operates a sick clinic each afternoon. They rely on 25 volunteers each month to take care of the 80 to 100 patients seen each day.

Recently because of the loss of a staff member, Good Samaritan was unable to add new patients to its schedule, something Pearce and nurse volunteer Donna Dixon said was a huge disappointment and source of much frustration.

That staffing problem has been eliminated with the addition of Dr. Patricia Mahoney, and the clinic will once again be accepting new clients.

"We have 300 people on that list waiting to get in," Pearce said. "It's very exciting that we will now be able to open our doors again to new patients."

The right direction

The changes at Good Samaritan include a move to the Alcoa City Center, probably in March or April, doubling the current space the clinic has on Chantilly Lane. Pearce said the clinic has been limited on what it can do because of the lack of room to expand, so this relocation is a definite move in the right direction. The new building also houses some familiar and welcome faces.

"We will be in a building with lots of partners we have worked with," Pearce explained, including the Joan Jackson School of Nursing. A behavioral health component is being added thanks to a partnership with Cherokee Health Systems.

Dixon said what she has noticed over the last several months are patients who never expected to need the services of Good Samaritan. These are people who had good jobs who never thought this could happen, she said. "They have been good stewards of their health but they need that care."

Tapped out

Being on the front lines as caregivers, Pearce and Dixon hear the stories of despair from families who don't know where to turn this time of year. Pearce said staff and volunteers at the clinic have a good knowledge of what other services are out there to help, but they often get depleted.

"There are a lot of wonderful programs out there that provide, but they get tapped out," Pearce said. She said the shift has gone from how to provide Christmas toys to how do we keep families together and keep a roof over their heads. In one month, nine families being seen at the Good Samaritan Clinic went homeless, she said.

Part of the solution

This benefit concert is a good way for people to hear some great holiday music and to help out in these dire situations, Pearce and Dixon (co-owner of the Palace Theater) said. All of the money will go directly to help the struggling families.

The clinic still receives financial support from Blount Memorial Hospital and has been designated a federally qualified health center, which will help Good Samaritan with reimbursements for TennCare patients and reduced costs for medication. Area churches and individuals also make contributions. Pearce said without these partnerships, they couldn't make this happen.

"It takes all of us," she said. "The community is part of the solution, and we are one component."

Blount Countians have always been generous when it comes to helping those in need, especially at this season of giving. Pearce said the patients seen at the clinic are hard-working. They can do all the right things and still end up in crisis situations.

"They are working hard and juggling life's ups and downs," she said. "We just want to help folks survive. We aren't talking about fluffy Christmas stuff. It is really looking at the basics."