Friday's Internet Edition, July 03, 2009.
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“We have, for the past two years, not brought in the revenue to cover the expenses that we’ve had,” Director Sandy Motley said. “Going into this year, we knew that if things didn’t change drastically, we were going to probably have to make some cuts in the budget.”
In 2007, the organization realized a loss of revenue over expenses of $330,000, partially due to a grant that was deferred for six months. It lost $116,000 in 2008 and $150,000 in just the first four months of 2009. Donor giving has gone down and grant money is “hard to impossible” to get, Motley said.
“I don’t have a lot of control over what the power bill is going to be or those kinds of things, so I have to cut the budget elsewhere,” she said. “Nobody on staff actually has lost their job yet. Everybody’s hours were cut or their rate of pay was cut.”
Davidson Medical Ministries will continue to run its clinic out of Thomasville Medical Center, Motley said, as well as its Lexington clinic at 420 North State St. The cuts will affect both locations.
The organization likely will have to shorten its hours after its department managers meet on Monday. It already has decreased the number of weekly new patients from about 22 down to 8. Motley said it will now go down even further, and existing patients likely will have to wait longer to get return appointments.
“I’m hoping that we don’t actually have to terminate services for existing patients, and I don’t want to stop taking new patients,” she said. “We’re just going to have to seriously limit it, and people who are non-compliant and no-showing appointments, they’re going to be the first ones to go.”
Collectively, Davidson Medical Ministries provided more than $6 million in patient services in 2008. With the help of in-kind services and medical assistance programs, the organization itself spent less than $1 million. The budget this year was for $1.1 million, but it has now been reduced to $900,000.
“We’re having to do what a lot of people are doing, which is tightening our belt,” Motley said. “We’ve got to live within our means, and right now, our means are kind of small.”
The organization has developed a campaign called Partners in Care to try to raise $1 million annually. Donors are recognized on four giving levels — bronze for $100-$499, silver for $500-$999, gold for $1000-$1999, and platinum for $2000 and above. Motley said that smaller donations are much appreciated as well.
In Davidson County, 23 percent of those ages 18-64 are uninsured. In 2008 Davidson Medical Ministries provided 26,111 patient encounters and dispensed 37,702 prescriptions at a retail value of $4.4 million.
To donate, call Laura Turlington at 243-7475 or visit davidsonmedicalministries.org. For more information about the Thomasville clinic, call 476-2800.
Staff Writer Karissa Minn can be reached at 888-3576 or newsdesk@tvilletimes.com.