A large health clinic event, "Your Best Pathway to Health,” will be held in Spokane, Wash., this summer. The decision to go ahead with this huge venture came on the heels of the same event in San Antonio, Texas, held April 9–11 in the Alamodome.
Cindy Williams, Upper Columbia Conference health ministries coordinator and San Antonio event volunteer, says, "I have never been a part of something this jaw-dropping." Williams volunteered in the eye clinic where volunteer staff saw hundreds of patients per day.
The first nationally coordinated health event was in San Antonio, and the second will be one this summer in Spokane, scheduled for Aug. 3–4. This massive health clinic will be held at the Spokane Interstate Fairgrounds and comes with a price tag. According to estimates, the basic supplies such as medical and dental supplies, meals, office supplies and setup costs will run about $100,000. “Some of this, about $30,000, is in hand,” explains Williams. “But the rest will need to be raised before August.”
Volunteers can begin signing up now for the Spokane event at pathwaytohealthvolunteer.org. It is estimated that Spokane’s event will be somewhat smaller than the one at the Alamodome, which saw more than 6,000 patients.
All medical specialties along with dental, eye care, massage, chiropractic, hydrotherapy, chaplaincy, and general office or organizational skills will be needed for Spokane. According to Williams, volunteers are already signing up for the event in Spokane, but more than 500 will be needed. Areas such as security, hospitality, meal preparation, barbers, beauticians and child care are also needed.
Follow-up for this two-day clinic will be offered at local churches. At the Alamodome, every patient received care and was then offered other services such as a haircut, hydrotherapy and massage. Then they went through chaplaincy services and lifestyle counseling. Each patient chose a church location to pick up their lab results or their eyeglasses.
Lela Lewis, Your Best Pathway to Health president, had a dream of holding a multispecialty clinic in the U.S. Her local chapter of ASI (Adventist Laymen’s Services and Industries) began by holding projects in San Francisco and Oakland, Calif. This program is now under the umbrella of the national ASI as a separate ministry in partnership with the Adventist Church. After Spokane, there are formal requests for six or seven more cities.
More than 6,000 people needing dental and eye care were served at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
Your Best Pathway to Health is organized by ASI and utilizes hundreds of volunteers to make it happen.
Approximately $20 million in professional medical care was provided at the Your Best Pathway to Health event in San Antonio, Texas. Now volunteers are preparing the next event in Spokane, Wash.
Approximately $20 million in professional medical care was provided at the Your Best Pathway to Health event in San Antonio, Texas. ASI is now planning the next event in Spokane, Wash.
