Increasingly, people have been abandoned along the path to health because they can’t afford it. Enter the Good Samaritan — Clinic, that is.
The Good Samaritan Clinic is a non-emergent clinic that offers primary care services and more, entirely free of charge.
“We’re picking up people who are left on the side of the road by our health care system,” Good Samaritan Clinic Executive Director Elaine Taylor said. “It’s all about the money now, and it’s pretty difficult to navigate for patients.”
Located in the Downtown Vineyard Church, the clinic is open from 1 to 5 p.m. on Fridays and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. The clinic is almost entirely operated by a volunteer team of retired and practicing physicians, nurses and other professionals with various specialties.
The Good Samaritan Clinic offers various services on an appointment basis, such as diagnosing and managing acute and chronic conditions, basic laboratory testing, minor wound care, STI testing and treatment, physicals and women’s wellness services like the pap smear.
Photos by Larry Robinson/The Daily Sentinel
Ken Ducote, a Grand Valley resident for nearly 10 years, right, has his blood pressure checked by The Good Samaritan Clinic’s Executive Director and Registered Nurse Elaine Taylor on April 27. The Good Samaritan Medical Clinic serves western Colorado as a free medical and mental care facility for those without medical insurance.
According to Taylor, these services were all added to the clinic because the need for an affordable way to access them was repeatedly expressed among the community. Taylor said that a common misconception about the clinic is the communities it serves.
“We usually don’t see (unhoused) patients because they’re insured through Medicaid,” Taylor said. “A third of our patients are working people who make too much money to be eligible for Medicaid, but not enough to pay the high premiums for health insurance. Another third of our patients have insurance, but can’t find a doctor.”
She said the other third of the patient population is people transitioning out of prison or jail into the general public or community corrections; this demographic is critical to serve because they often need prescription renewals or physicals but can’t wait the four to six weeks it usually takes to see a community physician.
“I retired seven years ago and was waiting for my Medicare to kick in,” Grand Junction Black Dragon Martial Arts owner Ken Ducote said. “In that window, I didn’t have a physician, and I had high blood pressure, so I had to come and get that checked. I found (this clinic), and they actually made the blood pressure normal.”
Larry Robinson/The Daily Sentinel
Ken Ducote, a Grand Valley resident, enters the Good Samaritan Clinic on April 27. The Good Samaritan Clinic, located in the Downtown Vineyard Church at 402 Grand Ave., has been serving the community for the past six years.
Taylor has been involved in this clinic since its start more than six years ago, but she credits the idea and creation to the now-deceased Bill Berryman, a retired physician from the Grand Junction Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Taylor and Berryman had both recently retired from the VA Medical Center when Berryman approached her with an issue all too familiar for medical professionals.
“He was hearing from too many patients that they just had nowhere to go,” Taylor said.
The idea quickly became a reality more impactful than Berryman or Taylor could have imagined, with a dedicated clinic space, two exam rooms and even a space for mental and behavioral health counseling. In 2023 alone, the clinic provided direct care, test results, prescription renewals and symptom management advice to more than 2,000 people.
“I didn’t know what to expect coming from Louisiana because clinics in New Orleans that help people are not like this, they’re kind of rough,” Ducote said. “But I came here, and oh my God, I just fell in love with these people, they are great.”
Although the clinic has solidified its presence and impact on the Grand Junction community within less than a decade, Taylor said some residents don’t understand or agree with the clinic or its financial practices.
Ken Ducote, a Grand Valley resident, enters the Good Samaritan Medical Clinic to have his blood pressure checked.
“Number one, only free clinics have access to federal malpractice and liability coverage, and that’s important when you have an all-volunteer staff,” Taylor said. “The second reason is that there’s a national association of free clinics — there are 1,400 free clinics in the United States, but only three in Colorado because of our cowboy mentality.”
Beyond the benefits of this clinic to many people lacking accessible health care, Taylor said the clinic provides just as much value to the more than 40 medical professionals volunteering their time to run the operation.
“(This is) very good for patients, but having a robust volunteer opportunity for us health care professionals is really valuable because we have all this knowledge and we can put it to service for our community,” Taylor said.
Aspiring medical professionals also volunteer their time at the clinic, as students studying to be a nurse or physician’s assistant at Colorado Mesa University have the opportunity to work one-on-one alongside a volunteer physician, treating various illnesses and injuries hands-on.
“They’re getting a really good community service experience, but also seeing what a small, free clinic looks like,” Taylor said. “Maybe down the road, they end up in a community and get a free clinic started, you just never know.”
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