Mayor Jon Pike with representatives from Associated General Contractors and DeAnne Staheli, Director of the Doctors' Volunteer Clinic, donation presentation. Doctors' Volunteer Clinic, St. George, Utah, Oct. 14, 2014 | Photo by Brett Brostrom, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – The Doctors’ Volunteer Clinic of St. George received a donation of $6,000 from the Associated General Contractors of Utah Tuesday. St. George Mayor Jon Pike, Doctors’ Volunteer Clinic Director DeAnne Staheli and several representatives from the AGC, including President and CEO Richard Thorn, were in attendance for the check presentation ceremony, which took place at the Doctors’ Volunteer Clinic,1036 E. Riverside Drive
St. George.

The clinic, a nonprofit health care organization, offers services to those who are uninsured, live 150 percent below the poverty line, or are homeless. The clinic has nearly 30 volunteers, including physicians, dentists, and counselors.

“We see about 800 patients a  month” Staheli said. “We plan on using the donation to buy some equipment that will help doctors better diagnose our patients as well as help pay for medication for those who cannot afford it. We are extremely grateful for the donation, as donations have been declining for some time now.”

A patient at the clinic named Gloria (last name reserved for privacy) said:

I depend on the clinic for all my medical needs because my job does not offer insurance and I cannot afford private insurance. I recently went to see the physician there because I was not feeling well. The doctor checked my heart and wanted me to go to the hospital that day to get a more complete test done, and since the clinic offers a discounted rate I was able to go and get the test. The cardiologist from the hospital called me the next day and told me I had an aneurysm along with some other heart defects. Even though I didn’t have insurance, the hospital was able to set me up with a payment plan allowing me to have the open heart surgery I needed. If I hadn’t been able to go to the clinic, I would have never known about the aneurysm and I would not be here today.

During the ceremony, the AGC representatives gave a brief introduction of who they are and why they decided to donate to the clinic. AGC Chairman Doug Watts said:

The AGC has been around since 1922, we’re coming up on celebrating our 100 year anniversary. The AGC gives back every year, and we felt that DeAnne and the clinic here work so hard to provide such a needed service that this would be our best bet. We’ve done everything from build playgrounds to the Hope lodge (a place that provides lodging for cancer patients and their caregivers) and in St. George we’ve participated in three different projects, the Doctors Volunteer Clinic of course, we’re helping the Children’s Justice Center build their reflection garden, and we’ve donated to the Washington County Education Foundation to essentially improve and enhance the safety in the school crossings across the county.

Pike said:

This is just the best example, I think, of volunteerism, community service, and the Dixie spirit that you hear people talking about. They don’t bill insurances, they don’t bill medicaid, it is all done through donations and volunteer work. Everything you see is donated from all around the community. I am just thrilled that the AGC recognizes how great of an organization the Doctors’ Volunteer Clinic is.

For more information on the clinic or to donate, you can visit their website here.

Related Posts

• Health Care With Heart: Doctors’ Volunteer Clinic Sees Increase in Patients
• Perspectives: One small community takes one large step in health care solution
• Healthy Utah Plan in the works for those in the uninsured gap
• Cancer survivor, Senior Games athlete; local woman’s medal donation to Intermountain Cancer Clinic
• New procedure burns out arthritic pain

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2014, all rights reserved.