The Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth founded Marian Clinic in Topeka, Kansas in 1988 in order to provide medical and dental care for the uninsured who live in poverty in the greater Topeka community. The Clinic’s patients are primarily adults of every faith who live in families considered to be among the “the working poor,” with most having incomes at or below 100% of the federal poverty level.
The Clinic, supported in large part by its 200+ health care professional volunteers, offers a wide range of services including: medical, dental, medications, women’s health care, mental health care, and case management.
Despite their circumstances, patients who come to the Marian Clinic receive optimal start-to-finish care to restore their health. Here are a few examples:
A Smiling Face
“A severe M.R.S.A. (Methicillin-Resistant Staph Aureus) infection had damaged a patient’s face, leaving it de-formed with infection under the skin. When she arrived at the Marian Clinic she had been forced to quit her job due to the condition and had lost her health insurance. It was obvious she needed support for her basic needs as she faced numerous operations.
In addition to the Clinic providing medical care, the Marian Clinic’s social worker Charlotte Rinsley, LMSW, coordinated many referrals to outside providers and obtained over $32,000 in funding to cover most costs of infectious disease specialists and plastic surgeons at K.U. Medical Center. This case has been with us for a year and we continue to follow it. After two facial surgeries (and one more pending) the patient is scheduled to begin job training for a new start to life — and a new smiling face to go with it.”
A Caring Team Gives a Helping Hand
“When a 37 year old married father arrived at the Clinic in January 2009 with several medical issues, staff physician Dr. April Bremby wasted no time addressing them all. The patient was immediately treated for his high blood pressure and acid reflux, but other more serious symptoms suggested a pituitary tumor. In conjunction with volunteer clinic physician Dr. Maurice Cashman, Jr. we ordered an MRI of his brain, did a lab work-up, and referred him to Dr. Robert Coleman, a volunteer endocrinologist, who confirmed a benign pituitary tumor. He was also referred to Drs. Craig Yorke and John Ebeling, volunteer neurosurgeons, for a consultation about possible surgery for the tumor.
As a result of the Clinic’s collaboration with such dedicated volunteers, the patient is now on medications that have controlled his blood pressure and acid reflux and lowered his tumor levels, with surgery as an option in the future. At his May 11th checkup at the Clinic he was doing so well he was released to return to work as a welder, able to support his family once again.”
Gifts that Change Lives!
Anne, a single woman, struggled for years with various medical needs until the Marian Clinic’s Nurse Patient Advocate, Sr. Mary Rosaleen, arranged for Anne to receive hearing aids valued at $2,200, medication assistance, and help finding employment. Then recently, problems were discovered with Anne’s heart during a checkup by Marian Clinic’s volunteer cardiologist Dr. Al Asendorf. Following a stress test, a heart catheter was inserted and four heart bypasses were completed the next day! This timely intervention through the Marian Clinic, likely saved Anne’s life and offers her a much healthier tomorrow”
To help continue supporting the wonderful work being done at this clinic and others like it please visit our Donation page.
