Physicians’ Clinic of Iowa Makes Donations to Area Free Clinics

Hello friends,

I reviewing my old emails, I saw this article about PCI's donation to Cedar Rapids free clinics. Their donation to us paid for our new dental unit (2 chairs, opening in mid-February). What a blessing!

Check out the article: Physicians’ Clinic of Iowa Makes Donations to Area Free Clinics

Healthy Living Program

Dear friends,

Last week I met with Gary Witter, a contractor who sits on the His Hands board of directors, to talk about the renovation of the last chunk of our building. We call this space the '4th bay'. (Originally, the building was subdivided into four store-fronts. We've renovated the northern 3 'bays', but as you can see from the photo above, the '4th bay' is being used as a storage right now, and it is still pretty rustic!) Gary had some great ideas for how to maximize the space, and already I can see it starting to come together.

Cyndi and I have so many plans for this part of the building. There will be a big open space for orientations, meetings, and volunteer gatherings. it can also serve as an over-flow area for a future Physical Therapy ministry.

But what has us most excited is that the 4th Bay will give us space for the Healthy Living Program. This program focuses on educating our patients about how diet, exercise, and basic 'healthy living' can lead to healthier, productive lives. We want to help patients free themselves from monthly maintenance, learn how to control their diabetes, and find ways to take control of chronic illnesses.

In the back of the 4th bay, we want to put a basic kitchen, similar to what our patients have, so that we can have nutrition classes and teach patients how to eat healthfully within their budget. We are also thinking about how to implement a weight loss program similar to Weight Watchers - something that can encourage our patients and give them accountability.

This is such an exciting time, and I wanted to share it with everyone!

We are still waiting for some funding to come in, and of course every new program we add takes funds and staff time to implement. Please keep this renovation in your prayers!!

Sharon
(Executive Director)

Dental Coordinator

Hello
Please let me introduce myself. I am Michelle Retter, the new dental coordinator for His Hands Ministries. I am so excited to be a part of this ministry and use my skills as a dental hygienist. I have been a hygienist for almost 30 years and have mostly worked part time. I currently work for Dr. Tim Michels on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays and will be at His Hands on Tuesdays and Thursdays and some Friday afternoons.

I am married to Mark Retter and have 3 children--Ashley Parham (27), Brad Miller (24), and Dylan Miller (14). My daughter is married and lives in Marion. Brad lives in Des Moines, and Dylan is still at home.

I have been busy working on finding volunteer dentists and have a handful who are interested in helping out. We are waiting for the final touches to the units and are getting close to ordering all our supplies. Please pray that all the final details will fall into place. There is such need for this service as the medical clinic gets at least 2 calls a week with people who have tooth pain and infections.

I will update this to let you all know our progress and opening date.

God's Abundance!

Hello all,

Just another quick note to share that God has been gracious to us this year! We have had a lot going on - the capital campaign to move us into our new building, our actual move in August 2011, my leaving on maternity leave during November and December. In all of that, we have been simply trusting that God would take care of us financially.

And He has!

So far, end-of-year donations have added up to almost $70,000 - that's almost half of what we budgeted! I feel like these funds have already been spent - we have a new ministry (dental) to support, another staff person (the Dental Coordinator), more of the building to renovate, and so many projects to tackle. What a blessing!

Continue to pray for God's guidance and we seek out His paths for this ministry.

Blessings,

Sharon Patten
Executive Director

Dental at His Hands: Soon to be a reality!

Hello friends,

We've been talking for months now about adding dentistry to the list of services we can offer our patients, and I am so pleased to share that that will soon be a reality! Because of gifts from our donors and Physicians Clinic of Iowa, we were able to begin ordering dental equipment and furniture in early fall. Since then, we have hired a Dental Coordinator to oversee the new service and manage the volunteers. Above is a picture of the dental room so far.

As with our other ministries at His Hands, our Dental Clinic will be staffed entirely by volunteers. We are actively seeking dentists, hygienists, and dental assistants who can volunteer their time to make a difference. Also, we will need receptionists and prayer supporters at these clinics, and administrative volunteers to help with collecting data. There is a place for everyone!

We will try to update this blog often to keep everyone in the loop. God has been so good to us - and we like to share it!

Blessings,

Sharon Patten
Executive Director