Newspaper Page Text
12 MARCH 2017 | HU
AtlantalNtownPaper.com
Community clinic provides care to vulnerable
By Isadora Pennington
In 2015, over 28 million Americans
age 65 and under did not have health
insurance, and that number could increase
if the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is
reformed or repealed by Congress. As
government-funded aid to low income
families drops off, many clinics and
organizations that provide care are seeing
an increase in patients.
One of those organizations is
Community Advanced Practice Nurses
(CAPN), a local nonprofit made up of
medical professionals who help those in
the most need, including women, children,
the homeless and members of the LGBTQ
community. CAPN operates eight clinics
in the Atlanta area, with all but the main
office located within shelters.
CAPN was founded in 1998
by members of the Georgia Nurses
Foundation Women and Children’s
Clinic. Today, the clinics provide aid to
around 3,000 people per year. Of those
people, roughly 70 percent are women
and 40 percent are children. An estimated
25 people come through the doors of
any given clinic daily, seeking physical
and mental healthcare, as well as patient
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Photo by Isadora Pennington
A volunteer nurse examines patient Cassello Sherrod at the CAPN clinic.
education about healthy lifestyle choices.
The clinic also offers 500 hours of student
training for aspiring nursing students
through a residency program at Morehouse
College, as well as training for students
from Emory University and Georgia State
University.
Services available through the CAPN
clinics include vaccinations, physical
exams, assessments, gynecologic care,
reproductive care, breast exams, family
planning, STI testing, psychological
counseling, and substance abuse
counseling. Many of those who seek aid
through these centers have no money or
other recourse, and these services fill a
vital need for anything that an Emergency
Room visit would not be able to address.
“We don’t turn anybody away,” said
director Connie Buchanan, who has been
with CAPN since its inception.
The clinic is always operating at
capacity, and nurses filter in day after
day, tending to walk in patients and their
families with the kind of personalized
care one wouldn’t expect to find in a low-
income facility.
Buchanan said many clinics operating
in metro Atlanta and across the country
find themselves at risk now, with
foundation support disappearing in the
wake of ACA reform. Fortunately, CAPN
is structured in such a way that the clinic is
able to “follow the need, rather than follow
the money,” as Buchanan puts it.
Their meager funding is just enough
to get by, but it also prevents CAPN
from fully addressing every division and
group that needs extensive help. Avoiding
“mission creep” remains at the forefront
of the clinic’s modus operandi; they must
constantly reevaluate to ensure that they
don’t stray too far from their core values
and spread their resources too thin to
effectively help their clients. Additionally,
the needs of their clientele have changed
and shifted throughout the years. “Just
when you think you understand the
situation, something changes,” Buchanan
said.
Despite the anxiety surrounding the
repeal of ACA and decreased funding
for CAPN and similar institutions, the
clinic is not a depressing place. The vibe
is familial and compassionate, and the
passion of the providers who work there is
palpable.
“Our patients have so much hope, it
gives us hope,” explained Buchanan, who
says she often finds herself feeling tired and
perhaps sad, but not hopeless. “At the end
of the day, I can see that I did something.”
To find out more about CAPN, visit
capn.org or call (404) 658-1500. 03
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