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Hernando Today

Local Clinic Provides Care For Less Fortunate

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By Tony Holt

Hernando Today

Published: August 17, 2008

Brooksville - The city's newest medical clinic welcomed six patients the afternoon of June 7.

There was more than twice that many in the waiting room Saturday morning.

It didn't take long for the community to take notice of Crescent Community Clinic – run mostly by local Muslim medical professionals.

"The whole purpose is to provide health care for the needy," said Dr. Mohammad Joud, one of the internists who regularly volunteers at the clinic.

"I'm a human being, not a doctor, solely," he continued. "If you live in this community and claim it as your home, you'd better take care of the people here. You'd better look at the big picture."

One of the men spearheading the clinic is 25-year-old medical student Alex Galvan.

He sees it as a way to provide a service for underprivileged patients as well as to enhance the image of Muslims in the community.

More than 40 medical professionals, including Joud, either volunteer or are looking to do so in the future. Most of them are Muslim, Galvan said.

"I can breathe a little better," said one patient in the waiting room who was there for a follow-up visit. She declined to give her full name because of the sensitivity of her condition.

"I think it's a good thing to have this," said her husband, Ron. "There is someone who cares – someone who can put this together. Doctors are only concerned nowadays about what kind of insurance you have."

The clinic – which is suited for those without insurance – is modeled after Red Crescent in Tampa, which also has a food bank and provides other outreach services for the community.

Galvan has similar goals for the Brooksville facility, located at 656 S. Broad St. in Brook Plaza – across from the city's old hospital building. There is empty space next to the clinic, which he hopes to convert into a food bank in the future.

"For the most part, we diligently try to meet the patients' needs," said Galvan, who graduated from Hernando High School.

The medical professionals at Crescent do not provide pain management, but can diagnose everything from hypertension to diabetes. They also can make the proper referrals to local specialists.

Residents who could use the services offered at Crescent often are a short walk, bike ride or drive from the plaza. Since it opened, volunteers have stayed well beyond closing time in order to see everyone, Galvan said.

A grand opening is scheduled for 2 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 23.

Most of the financing – approximately 95 percent – comes from local doctors. The clinic also relies on donations from pharmaceutical companies and local residents.

One of the storage rooms was packed with insulin recently given by a local pharmaceutical supplier.

Appointments are preferred, but walk-ins are welcome. Patients must meet certain criteria to be seen by a clinic doctor. An application is filled out at the start of the visit.

Crescent is open every Saturday beginning at 10 a.m.

Galvan's wife also is a medical student and is studying in Morocco. When she returns, they both plan to practice medicine in Hernando County.

"I believe this is my community," he said. "When my wife comes here, this is going to be our home."

Reporter Tony Holt can be reached at 352-544-5283 or wholt@hernandotoday.com.

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