BCF: Meharry clinic reaches out to women veterans - Nov. '09

Advocates for women veterans in Nashville, Tenn., have helped to establish one of the first comprehensive medical clinics specifically for the 1.8 million women who have served their country.

The state-of-the-art facility is the collaborative effort of Meharry Medical College and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Supported by United Methodists through the Black College Fund, Meharry has a longstanding commitment to caring for underserved communities.

Dr. Gloria Richard-Davis can relate to her patients because she is an Army veteran. “You can almost immediately see some of the melting away because there is that commonality. The language is different. It is comforting for them to know I have served and I understand.”

Corina Collins served 21 years in the Air Force. “The moment you walk into this clinic,” she notes, “the sense that it was developed specifically for [women veterans] hits you.”

The veterans have access to primary care, gynecological, smoking cessation and mental health services. Having all of these options available in one facility makes it convenient for patients while giving them an added sense of privacy.

The staff encourages counseling to help returning soldiers readjust to civilian life. Irregular sleep patterns, anxiety and depression are the three most common areas of treatment for returning service women visiting the clinic.

Army veteran Mary Ross served in the first Gulf War and remembers how painfully difficult it was to leave her young daughter behind. “I had made a conscious decision that if called, I would certainly deploy. But that guilt never really goes away.”

Richard-Davis appreciates the chance to care for her peers. “There are unique issues that women who have served in the armed forces experience. To have Meharry be a part of that is, for me, icing on the cake. It brings so many of my passions together.”

--Henri Giles

Encourage your congregation to remit 100% to the Black College Fund Apportionment.  To learn more about the Black College Fund and the colleges and universities it supports, please visit www.gbhem.org/bcf.