Tsunami
According to a study commissioned by the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Center for Livable Communities, Gwinnett will become the metro Atlanta region’s largest county by 2040, with a forecast population of 1.35 million. Said differently, during the next twenty years, nearly 400,000 people are expected to move into Gwinnett County.
The most recent census data suggests 13.0% of all households in Gwinnett are living in poverty. Compare this statistic to only 4.8% of all Gwinnett households in 2000.
And, according to Jill Gonzale of the personal finance website WalletHub, Georgia ranks 47th in the US in terms of citizens having health insurance. Gonzale reports the uninsured rate of Georgia is about 13 percent, compared to the national rate of 9 percent.
These three alarming measures point to an oncoming tsunami of need, and the nonprofits of our community best be figuring out how to respond to what could be an overwhelming demand on our organizations during the next decade.
The Good Samaritan Health Center of Gwinnett and Bridge Atlanta Medical Center merged on September 1st. We have spent the last two months learning how Bridge operates and making decisions about how to grow the clinic to a full-time operation, and we are pleased to tell you Bridge Atlanta Medical Center will be open five days a week beginning November 6th to serve more of the poor and uninsured.
In addition to operating as a full-time clinic, we have installed new computers, purchased new point of care diagnostic equipment, hired full-time staff, and are soliciting bids for the construction of our second onsite charitable dental clinic. We are pouring into our organization because we know the need for charitable health and dental care is great and growing, and as servants empowered by the King, we want to make both locations as widely available to the sick and poor as we possibly can. In our desire to honor Father God with our labors, we are providing low-cost comprehensive primary care, specialty health care, and dental care to the uninsured and medically underserved populations of Gwinnett County.
We know we, the workers and donors, are stronger when joined together, and we pray your desire to contribute to our ministry only grows stronger as we advance toward our goal of being the medical home of choice for all those Jesus told us to remember – the poor, the sick, the foreigner, the prisoner, the widow, the orphan, and more. To serve them better we need your help, and we ask you to make a donation today so that we may continue to move forward boldly in our service to this great community.
Every dollar makes a difference!
