"John," 50, came to Good News Clinics for an eye exam in June 2010. When he was 20, he had suffered an injury in which barbed wire pierced the retina of his left eye. He had been told the damage was permanent and had been blind in his left eye for the past 30 years.

During his exam, the retired ophthalmologist volunteer detected some sensitivity to light in the left eye and diagnosed John with an injury-induced dense cataract. He was referred to another ophthalmologist, who volunteers through the Health Access Initiative, for surgical removal of the cataract. The surgery was performed free of charge, and John's sight to his left eye was restored after 30 years of blindness in that eye.

‘Sheila," 28, was uninsured and frequently missed work because of abdominal pain. She qualified for services at GNC, where she was diagnosed with gallbladder disease and was then referred to HAI by her clinic physician to help her access the services of a specialist. Individualized care management services were provided to help Sheila plan her care, and within six weeks of enrolling in HAI, she underwent a successful surgery for gallbladder disease and was able to quickly return to work.

All services were provided at no charge, and Sheila later called HAI to express her appreciation for the care she had received that enabled her to resume care for her family.

Almost 300 physicians and dentists in our community volunteer their time through the Health Access Initiative and Good News Clinics to treat patients like John and Sheila who have lost hope and need health care resources that would otherwise be inaccessible due to their low-income, uninsured status. Patients also receive free prescription drugs that help support their compliance with prescribed treatment regimens.

A Christian ministry, GNC was founded in 1992 by a group of physicians and clergy members in two rooms of a local housing project to provide free primary care to low income, uninsured people who do not qualify for public assistance programs. Continuing the support that Northeast Georgia Medical Center had provided to GNC from the program's beginning, The Medical Center Foundation, contributed $1 million through the Foundation's first three-year Healthy Journey Capital gifts campaign to help support expansion and service delivery. In 2005, GNC moved into its current facility on Pine Street and is the largest free clinic in Georgia.

Health Access Initiative, a partnership of the Hall County Medical Society, private physicians and NGMC, grew out of the efforts and findings of the Healthy Hall Partnership. Although there was no organized program for patients to qualify for specialty care, primary care physicians sought free specialty care for their patients from specialist colleagues. HAI was founded in 2002 to provide a more efficient model of specialty care delivery.

Last year, GNC and HAI totaled almost 100,000 patient visits for primary care, dental, lab and specialty care. The volunteer physicians and dentists who provided the care were joined by other clinical and nonclinical caregivers in our community who share a common love and compassion for the people who need and qualify for services.

Through its charity care program, NGMC provides free services to GNC and HAI patients who need inpatient and outpatient care at the hospital. At still another level, financial support collectively comes from The Medical Center Foundation, United Way, Healthcare Georgia Foundation, the Appalachian Regional Commission, grants, churches, businesses and individuals to help fund and sustain these vital services for our community.

Last week, Jackson Healthcare awarded a Charitable Service Award to NGMC for the hospital's collaborative relationship with GNC and HAI. NGMC was one of 10 hospitals in the nation to receive this award Jackson Healthcare has created to recognize and encourage hospital involvement in community health improvement and to help spread the word about best practices that can be replicated in other communities. They plan to launch a website that will feature all of the 110 entries that were submitted for their Hospital Charitable Service Awards to help facilitate exchange of ideas and networking among people throughout the country who share the vision of healthier communities.

While we were pleased and excited that NGMC was among the founding hospital recipients of this award, an even greater acclaim is the realization that the power of cooperation and caring of the many physicians and other volunteers is touching and changing the lives of people like John and Sheila, one patient at a time.

 Carol H. Burrell is interim CEO, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Gainesville-based. Northeast Georgia Health System.