Total Dollars Awarded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (8/1/00 to 7/31/04): $ 441,140

Grantee: Shepherd's Hope, Inc., Orlando, FL

Co-funders:

• Dr. Phillips Foundation
• John H. Sykes Foundation
• VNA Foundation
• Edyth Bush Foundation
• Blue Foundation
• Father’s Table
• Universal Studios Escape
• Wheatridge Ministries
• Eckerd Foundation
• A. Friends Foundation Trust
• Femmes De Couer
• Publix Supermarkets

Primary Objective: Shepherd’s Hope is a non-profit, faith-based organization whose mission is to provide free medical care for low income, uninsured men, women and children, using an all volunteer staff in partnership with community hospitals, schools and churches.

Accomplishments:

• Provided over 18,000 new patient visits
• Developed 3 additional evening health centers, with a 4th center opening in 2004 (total of 8)
• Developed comprehensive community partnership model including 6 public schools, 8 sponsoring churches, 6 hospitals, and 4 local government entities
• Hired and trained 4 new staff including an Executive Director, Volunteer Director, Medical Director and Administrative Assistant
• Developed a pilot Chronic Care Program
• Developed and implemented a Patient Satisfaction Survey obtaining an overall satisfaction score of 4.77 on a scale of 1 to 5
• Developed and implemented a Volunteer Satisfaction Survey in which 90% of volunteers reported their experience has been “very positive”
• Developed comprehensive operations & volunteer manual to support the replication of the program
• Recruited over 900 volunteers who regularly staff the evening health centers

Challenges/Lessons Learned:

• Don’t expect perfection when working with an all-volunteer staff, but good training is a must
• Limit paperwork/bureaucracy when working with volunteers to the maximum extent possible
• Continuity of care & medication assistance is vital when serving chronically ill patients
• Access to free or affordable prescription medicines is a must when operating a free clinic

Financial Sustainablilty/Future Plans:

• Develop 3 additional centers in a neighboring county to meet rising demand for services
• Expand Chronic Care Program Model to serve chronically ill population
• Develop purchasing system for generic drugs to supplement “physician samples”
• Implement comprehensive individual donor program- “Call To Hope Society”
• Host two signature special events each year (1/3 of financial support last year)

Graduates 2003