May 20, 2024
RINGGOLD, Ga. — More than one in ten Catoosa County residents lives at or below the poverty level according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Many more individuals under 65 have no health insurance or find challenges paying for routine health care.
Georgia Baptist Health Care Ministry grant recipient Tri-Med Family Care in Ringgold daily meets the needs of underinsured and non-insured people with either free or significantly reduced primary medical care services.
“We are a primary care center that serves the underserved in the greater Ringgold community not only with physical health care, but also mental health care and spiritual support as well,” said Suzanne Chovanec, Chief Executive Officer. “We take most all insurances, and we also take those who are uninsured. We have a program here that we would not turn anybody away for the inability to pay for services. We even see people who even have private insurance. They're not able to afford these huge deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses. They're just carrying catastrophe policies because they can't afford baseline, routine health care,” she said.
“We also see the rising cost of medications keeping people from coming to the doctor. Here at Tri-Med, our pharmacy is able to provide reduced-cost medicines that people otherwise might not be able to afford. We are able to purchase drugs at a cheaper cost and can therefore pass those savings on to our patients. We’ve been able to treat a lot of people who otherwise would not have been able to get those prescriptions due to the normal costs. We're seeing it not just in people in distressed economic status, but even the middle class is struggling with health care needs right now,” Chovanec said.
“Tri-Med reaches people that otherwise might not be helped in northwest Georgia,” said Larry Wynn, Executive Director of the Georgia Baptist Health Care Ministry Foundation. “We are glad they are such great stewards of their grant funding. We strongly agree with them that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is about meeting physical needs to pave the way for spiritual life.”
The GBHCMF exists to demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ through the provision of healthcare grants to non-profit healthcare providers. It manages charitable legacy assets from the Georgia Baptist Health Care System, which has a 100-year history of providing healing to those in need. Funds are expended in the form of grants supporting heath care needs that benefit organizations and individuals across the state of Georgia. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. For more information, please visit www.gbhcmf.org.
