Healing Hands – Giving Back to the Lane County Community

A homemade broom, a handed down wooden figurine, a thank you card… these are a few of my favorite things.  Without any financial or insurance resources available, women from our community offer me gifts of appreciation.  For one afternoon a month, I have the privilege of caring for women in need from Lane County at a free health clinic.  Women’s Care has a long tradition of giving back to our community in a variety of ways.  Today I share about my experiences of giving.

Volunteers in Medicine (VIM) is one of our community’s free health care clinics for people who do not have the financial resources or insurance needed to access healthcare.  For four days a week, people arrive at VIM to see nurses and doctors who are volunteering their time. VIM’s mission is “to understand and serve the health and wellness needs of the medically under-served and their households who live and work in the greater Lane County area”.  I am honored to be one member of the VIM team.  I see patients there only one half day per month, but in that short time, I feel I receive as much as I give.

I find that my time serving at Volunteers in Medicine is one of the most healing experiences in my own life, fulfilling VIM’s mission statement: “May we have eyes to see those rendered invisible and excluded, open arms and hearts to reach out and include them, healing hands to touch their lives with love, and in the process, heal ourselves.”

For more information:http://www.vim-clinic.org/

~ Dr. Suzanne Temple