St. Francis Medical Group physicians’ volunteer service is labor of love

INDIANAPOLIS – Several physicians with St. Francis Medical Group share their skills on weekends and off-hours as volunteers at various south-central clinics and programs serving the needy.

“Many of our physicians quietly go about their work in myriad ways,” said SFMG President Glenn Loomis, M.D. “They might have individual reasons why they do so but the unifying motivation is that they feel called to serve when and where they are needed.”

Among the physicians and their service:

Susan Hartman, M.D., family physician at Center Grove Family Physicians, has been volunteering at Shepherd Community Free Clinic since it opened in March 2007. She volunteers one Saturday a month. The clinic is located on the near eastside and serves the indigent population associated with Shepherd Community Church and its neighborhood ministries.

“I had been going to El Salvador for week long medical mission trips,” said Hartman, “but some health issues now prevent me from fully participating in these trips. Volunteering at Shepherd is the next best thing. I can still serve a need, see all the adorable Hispanic kids whom I love, keep practicing my Spanish and help out in our own neighborhood. I'm a big believer in giving back and this is my way to do it.”

Jennifer Bigelow, M.D., family physician Mooresville Family Care, agrees with the concept of giving back. She volunteers one Saturday a month at the St. Thomas More Clinic, which serves Morgan County residents who cannot afford to pay for their medical care and medications.

“I see my volunteer work at St. Thomas More as a natural extension of what I do every day,” Bigelow said. “God has given me certain unique capabilities, and He is able to use them to benefit His people in need. I know how to be a doctor, so I share that with my community because that's what God has called me to do.”

Recently, St. Thomas More was awarded the 2009 Hulman Health Achievement Award for Exceptional Contribution to Preventive Medicine and Public Health

Erica Duggan, M.D., family physician at Beech Grove Family Medicine, began volunteering at the Esperanza Center in Greenwood through the input of one of her patients. She volunteers two Monday afternoons a month at the center which serves the Hispanic population by providing limited medical services at a nominal fee.

Duggan noted that her work at Esperanza is “very fulfilling but very challenging.”

Aasha Trowbridge, M.D., grew up in a household where volunteering was routine. Today she volunteers at Gennesaret Free Clinics (GFC) which sponsors medical clinics in sites throughout the city for the homeless and indigent. Once or twice a month, she volunteers at the St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry medical clinic and the Foltz Clinic for battered women and children.

“When people come to the food pantry they can get their health care needs attended to at the same time,” Trowbridge said. “These patients have limited resources, no insurance, no transportation, no food. I have been bestowed many blessings,” Trowbridge added. This is the least I can do for those with very little.”

To learn more about St. Francis Medical Group physicians and the range of specialties they provide, go to http://www.stfrancishospitals.org/sfmg.