“It is terrifying when someone you love is sick, and you have no medical insurance. I know that terror. After 40 years of marriage, three kids, working for 20 years at one company and owning a beautiful home, I lost my job at age 58. My husband was retired, and I was supporting the family with my benefits. Shortly after I was let go, my husband’s health deteriorated, and after a trip to the ER, he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and kidney failure. The hospital wanted to treat him, but we couldn’t pay for all the tests. He would receive Medicare in six months, but we couldn’t wait that long. Thankfully the hospital referred us to Good News Clinics.

Finally, we had hope. We were treated with kindness and respect by all staff, from the application specialists to the volunteer medical providers. We were connected to Health Access, so my husband could see local specialists giving care in their offices through Good News Clinics, at no charge to the patient. As it became clear that my husband’s health situation was dire, his doctors never wavered in the care they gave, and we were given precious time to embrace life together, enjoying our children’s weddings and even welcoming our first grandchild. While my husband passed away three years after our first visit to the Clinics, I know we wouldn’t have had those years without the care he received here. I had to offer something back to the place who had given my family so much. Now I’m a volunteer here, and there isn’t a single day that I don’t go home grateful for the impact Good News Clinics has in the lives of people in Hall County, including mine.”