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Jan H. Wolfe
|  While the politicos in Washington debate and argue over health care reform, Eleanor Poe, the “Angel” of South El Paso, quietly goes about her business providing free care and treatment to those people who need it desperately, without any government money at all.
Poe, 81, is a quiet and totally focused woman who founded the Baptist Clinic nearly 37 years ago. She built it out of a crying need, literally. While she was attending a Sunday morning service, led by her husband Pastor Joe T. Poe, a child was whimpering in the back of the hall. Eleanor, a nurse, went to speak to the mother and discovered that the child had suffered from an ear infection for three weeks but the mother had no money to fill the prescription.
When similar incidents occurred, Poe knew what she had to do.
“As both a mother and a nurse, it began to touch my heart. I had an idea that if I were able to provide a place, the people and the equipment, good doctors would come and donate their time on their days off.”
It all began with borrowed space, one volunteer receptionist, one physician (Dr. Ralph Simon), one nurse (herself) and one patient the first day.
“I thought the doctor would be discouraged, but he said the patient would go home and tell her friends and they would come,” Poe said.
So they did and the Baptist Free Clinic was born.
Poe and her husband had adopted three young children. She had to be a full-time mother and still work to keep this dream alive. Her energy and devotion were the driving forces behind the growth of the clinic.
It is hard, if not impossible, to say “No” to Eleanor Poe. She is always recruiting new doctors and practitioners.
“My husband says the Marines missed a good one in me. I recruited one doctor at Barnes and Noble …and another one at the grocery store,” she said.
Poe’s original idea of using “down time” for doctors has proven to be very successful. She has gathered together a formidable group of the city’s best doctors and labs that donate time and services to her patients.
“Today we have some of the best specialists in town working. We only have four (exam) rooms for them, so we work in two shifts,” says Poe.
Mammograms are provided by the Komen Foundation, lab work by two major hospitals in town, and time and assistance are provided by a cadre of pre-med students. The clinic is open only on Saturday, so the lines are long, but worth it to the hundreds of patients who line up every weekend.
The El Paso Community Foundation rescued the group when its donated space was sold and there was no place to set up shop.
“Janice Windle came down and saw what we were doing. They gave us $10,000…We run on donations,” she said.
Dr. John Tune is the medical director and the legal and accounting needs are provided free by local professionals.
The clinic is a 501(c)3 charitable organization, run by a board of directors, but Poe is the heart and soul of the place.
“I finally hired a cleaning crew. I just can’t get down and scrub floors anymore,” she says. “[It] is so large it absorbs every bit of my time.”
Poe is “on duty” all the time, running the office from her home, with three helpers.
She is available to patients who need immediate advice or just need to talk. She is a full-time turbo-charged engine who can carry on several conversations at the same time and still make decisions. The staff adores her.
“She’s our angel,” says Mary Heasley, a volunteer. And herein lays a problem.
Poe knows she will need to retire soon, but finding a replacement will be a daunting proposition. She is both an administrator and a full-time nurse.
“It will be hard to find a nurse who will work for free,” she says.
It will be difficult to find an administrator, too, who has the same type of commitment to the church. Poe spends her time at home making phone calls, writing letters and updating files. There are 22,000 charts to keep current.
What keeps Poe and her volunteers going? “It’s just like Haiti, We have terrific needs here. Our motto is ‘By love, serve one another.’” (Galician 5:13)
Comments or questions about this story? E-mail swsenior@elpasoinc.com
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