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Buffalo, New York, medical practice serves refugee clients
Halima Saladi, 4, sees Dr. Glick for a regular checkup
Photo: Carol Fouke-Mpoyo
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As a boy, Myron Glick knew he would be a physician; it's the location for his practice that changed. The son of Mennonite missionaries to Belize, he expected to serve as a missionary doctor. But while studying medicine in Buffalo, New York, he said, "I got exposed to the needs in this diverse area, to the disparities in U.S. health care, and to how the poor are treated."
In response, in 1997, after he completed his residency, he started Jericho Road Family Practice. The mission is "to provide excellent medical care for all who need it, regardless of their insurance status, and to address in a holistic fashion the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs of each individual."
The practice is housed in the same building as Church World Service affiliate Journey's End Refugee Services (JERS), which along with other local resettlement agencies refers all newly arrived refugees there for their initial health screening. Most refugees then choose to use the practice for their primary health care. Also in the building is Jericho Road Ministries, which Dr. Glick founded in 1997 to help meet patients' non-medical needs. Programs include 1:1 mentoring for refugee expectant mothers and financial literacy.
At Jericho Road Family Practice, the ethnically diverse staff now includes three physicians and two nurse practitioners at two locations. Together they serve 9,000 patients, about half of them U.S.-born and half from 60 other countries. Patient visits number 25,000 a year. Patients without health insurance or Medicaid are expected to pay something, if only $5 to $10 per visit.
Keeping the practice solvent "is not easy, but we've been able to make it," Dr. Glick said, adding, "The challenges are outweighed by the satisfaction of interacting with so many types of people."
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