About Us
The Founder
An
Interview with PCC Founder Jerry Walden
 We caught up with founder and Medical Director
Emeritus Dr. Jerry Walden on
a sunny February afternoon, when he had a rare hour to himself. The
following excerpts are taken from that interview.
Q:
Tell us
about the process
that led up to the founding of Packard Community Clinic. Where were you
in your life and career at the time? Was there one provoking, inspiring
incident? Or was it the result of a long series of events and
realizations?
A: It was an incremental process, a gradual
building of experience upon
experience. It began back in the mid-60s, when I was in my last year of
Medical School at the University of Michigan, searching for a career of
meaning, considering what to do with my life. Part of that personal
struggle was the result of a conversion experience back to
Christianity. Eventually, I joined the Christian Students Medical
Society and, I spent three months in Nigeria. It was a very challenging
time to be in a thirdworld country, and during those months I was
introduced to the tensions between the black and white races in a very
real and visceral way. Later, as an intern at Philadelphia General
Hospital, I had another major brush with an urban, multiracial patient
base. Then, as a public health officer during the Vietnam War, I was
assigned to work in a U.S. penitentiary in Terra Haute,Indiana. It was
a very trying, very instructive period. Together, all of those
experiences made me realize that I wanted to do something to help
bridge the black and white communities.
But
you
didn't found the clinic immediately after medical school.
No-I joined forces with Dr. Ed Pierce and went to work at the Summit
Medical Center, which he founded in Ann Arbor. Four years later, I
decided it was time to move on. That's when I started Packard Community
Clinic.
It
must have
been a very costly undertaking.Where did the funds come from?
A good portion of the funding came from a wonderful program known as
the Community Development Block Grant or CDBG. It was those dollars
that helped us remodel the building-a poured-concrete structure on
Packard Road that an architect claimed he had built in three days. We
spent the summer of 1973 renovating the facility and began seeing
patients in September.
So
what was
it like in the early days? How many people were on staff? Who were your
patients?
The building itself was about 2,000 square feet. There were two of us
physicians working at the clinic in those early days, and about 300
square feet of our facility was occupied by several dentists involved
in the Model Cities Dental Program. I can still recall our first day of
operation. We saw four patients, charged eight dollars for our
services, and took in a total of six dollars.
Wow.
It
sounds like another world.
In many ways it was. But it was also an exciting time in health care.
Simpler.More fluid. Remember, there was no managed care at the time.
Most patients were fee-for-service or, if they were poor, were covered
by Medicaid.We had a sliding fee scale. Some people paid the going
rate, even a few dollars more if they were well off. And while it was
difficult for physicians to survive on the income we generated, we also
did a fair amount of hospital work-which helped considerably.
What
kind of
response did you get from friends, family, colleagues, the community?
The Clinic has always been a little bit of a mystery to most people. A
lot of local physicians still don't realize that PCC is as
nontraditional as it is. The fact is, our practice has always had a
significant base of paying patients. I also brought a number of
patients with me from the Summit Clinic to start the practice. The
community was very receptive from the start. Happily, that support has
continued to grow, and today approximately 8 percent of our income
comes from donors. Since we are subsidizing care for over 40% of our
patients, we are relying on this community support more than ever.
The
Clinic
itself has certainly grown and changed since then.
Yes, we've remodeled the facility five or six times. We enlarged the
waiting room, which was originally about ten feet by ten feet. Then we
added a second story. One of our patients, who were a carpenter and
were working on the building, even lived temporarily on the second
floor while it was under construction. The last expansion was in
1995.We raised $300,000 over a three-year period, changed the
configuration of the lab area, added a new waiting room and treatment
rooms, made all kinds of changes
Given
the
nature of the Clinic, has it been difficult to recruit office and staff
providers?
Not at all. We've been able to recruit a wonderful staff, a
tremendously talented group of people, from the receptionist through
the providers. Many people come to us. In fact, both of our current
providers-Dr. Wilkerson and Dr. Ryan-contacted me. Of course, one of
the hard things is that people have to be willing and able to make some
financial sacrifices in order to work for us. There's simply not enough
money in each health care dollar, at least not the way we've structured
our clinic. I'm especially grateful to my wife, Julie Tiplady, who has
been both a great visionary and a great organizer, using her MSW and
MBA skills to move the clinic forward. We also have a wonderful
Advisory Board, Development Committee and Governing Board made up of
highly talented people who believe that Ann Arbor is a better community
when its non-profit organizations are doing well. Their goal is to
increase our donor contributions by anywhere from 75 percent to 100
percent.
I know
you're absolutely
committed to the work of PCC. But was there ever a time when you wanted
to chuck it all and walk into a more "normal" practice?
No, I don't recall ever feeling that way. Oh, there are times when you
get overwhelmed by the work. It's a struggle sometimes, when there are
too few resources and the patients are seriously impacted by poverty.
But most days are so rewarding, and it's such a very great privilege to
work with the people who come to us.
What's
your
view of the current health care situation in this country? Is it better
than it was in 1973? Or worse?
It's worse. Back in the 1970s, people didn't feel as disenfranchised as
they do now. I find it amazing and appalling that the number of
uninsured people continues to grow, and that our government has chosen
not to respond-even back in the days when we had a big budget surplus.
Depending on the source, estimates of total uninsured Americans range
anywhere from 40 million to 70 million. That's just plain wrong. I've
been a supporter of national health insurance for a long time. Although
I'm alternately optimistic and pessimistic about the prospects for
that, I do think it will happen someday.
What
do you
see as the Clinic's greatest accomplishment in the last 30 years?
Being successful-socially, medically and spiritually-in offering
excellent medical care to the entire community. We've been able to
honor our mission of providing equal access health care for all,
regardless of ability to pay, and still manage to be the provider of
choice for thousands of patients. In the process, we have become a
family medical practice that crosses racial and economic lines and
binds generations together.
What
are
your hopes, expectations and aspirations for Packard Community Clinic
in the years to come?
I hope we continue to be a universal access health care practice. A
place where people of many cultures can feel comfortable and welcome.
Also, I'd like to see another wing added to the building, with
facilities for exercise and nutritional counseling. And I hope we
continue to inspire young providers to be available to people
struggling with their health care. For myself, I plan to step down from
the position of medical director in the next few years, but of course
I'll stay very involved with the clinic-as well as other good
organizations in Washtenaw County. Overall, I must say, it's been a
real pleasure being involved in this great risk-taking adventure.
PCC
Passion
This
place has its
Hold on me - the smiles exchanged
From faces of mahogany, ochre,
Sandalwood, burnished shades of smiles
Too numerous to list
Helped me to grin back filled with
The promise that a Michigan
Country boy could bridge a little hurt
In our culture of haves and have nots
And put my arm around some differences,
Some of age and of race and of gender
As well as of class.
The
ownership of this place for the ones who
Claim it, and many do - is to feel
That the best of treatment - no the
Best of intention will be offered. Embrace
The one who's sad and discouraged.
Enjoy the coworker's song. Listen as story upon
Story like fresh paint on Ann Arbor's
Rock satisfies you.
Yesterday
it was Gerda tromping up the
Stairs with her illness plain for all
To see. Good mentoring is practiced here.
This place has a hold on me.
~ Jerry Walden
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