Shuttered Wilkes-Barre clinic to reopen: Doctor has volunteered services once a week for three hours at Interfaith facility on Franklin St. - The Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, PA)

Byline: Mark E. Jones

Aug. 18--WILKES-BARRE -- The Interfaith Health Clinic, which suspended service earlier this summer, plans to reopen on Sept. 14.

A physician has volunteered to treat patients between 9 a.m. and noon on Fridays, said Kathy Thrapp, coordinator of the free clinic based in St. Stephen's Episcopal Church on South Franklin Street.

She declined to identify the doctor, pending his permission, she said.

The clinic -- a decade-old charitable project targeting people without adequate health insurance -- had stopped tending to patients in June due to a lack of volunteer doctors. A staff meeting had been scheduled for Friday to determine the project's fate.

'I have to honestly tell you, none of us expected this,' said Thrapp, who has been at the clinic for about six years. 'Everybody thought this was going to be the final (gathering).

'But God provided.'

The clinic's staff consists of about 15 volunteers, including clerical workers, nurses, a social worker and a Spanish interpreter. They will spend the next month preparing to reopen by contacting former patients, cleaning the basement facility and painting it.

'We have a lot of work but we also have a lot of willing hands to do it,' Thrapp said.

About 40 'discharged' patients had left their phone numbers, in case the clinic resumed operation, she said.

Previously, the part-time clinic had been open on Wednesday mornings and Thursday evenings. Thrapp will continue to try to locate willing doctors and nurse practitioners, she said, in hopes of reinstituting an evening session.

Patients will be able to schedule appointments by calling 825-8721.

Other free, non-emergency medical clinics in Luzerne County operate in Wilkes-Barre, Shavertown and Mountain Top. A church group also recently proposed the startup of a Pittston clinic.

Information about those and other social service programs can be obtained by calling Help Line, the region's 24-hour referral service at 829-1341.

Mark E. Jones, a Times Leader staff writer, can be reached by calling 831-7305.

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

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