The Recent Renovations At The Guadalupe Clinic, A Diocesan Ministry At 940 S. St. Francis In Wichita, Include A Dispensary For Medications. Charlotte Ridley, Whose Responsibilities Include The Dispensary, Said The Added Window And A Dedicated Entrance Through A Locked Door Provide Increased Security. The Renovation Is Part Of An Upgrade At The Clinic That Includes New Led Lighting, A Renovation Of Lab And Work Areas, And Energy Efficient Windows.

VISITORS TO THE GUADALUPE CLINIC AT 940 S. ST. FRANCIS IN WICHITA WILL NOTICE SOME CHANGES TO THE DONATION-BASED HEALTH CLINIC. SEVERAL PROJECTS AND UPDATES RECENTLY COMPLETED WERE MADE POSSIBLE BY THREE GRANTS TOTALING $65,000.

The clinic closed for a week over the Fourth of July holiday to reorganize and allow medical staff to move to a different part of the building for construction. The work was completed by the end of the month.

“The first project was to replace the 50-year-old original windows with tinted, double pane high- efficiency windows,” said Jodi Guillemette, director of Development. “The grant from Dwane L. and Velma Lunt Wallace Charitable Foundation provided the funds for that project.”

Guillemette said the improvement will significantly lower the clinic’s heating and cooling bills and ultimately benefit those who visit the clinic. “Every time Guadalupe Clinic can find a way to decrease costs of overhead, such as utilities, it gives us the opportunity to spend those savings on patient care.”

A grant from Black Hills Energy Foundation funded three projects. One was the renovation of an unused area into a patient counseling and intake room.

“The project gave us a private area for patients to meet with a behavioral health counselor,” Guillemette said. “Recently, Guadalupe Clinic entered into a partnership with CANA Counseling services so that patients could be provided with counseling on site.”

The counseling is provided through Catholic Charities.

With the Black Hills grant the clinic was also able to replace the overhead lighting with LED high- efficiency lights, and renovate their lab.

“The funds for the lab gave us the ability to reorganize, allowing counters for our autoclave, a larger sink, and more storage capacity. It creates better efficiency as well as providing privacy when processing various tests,” Guillemette said.

The clinic also built a dispensary room and renovated the nursing and volunteer areas. This was made possible by a third grant from the Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved. Guillemette said that prior to the remodel the clinic used a series of locked closets to store medication.

The dispensary room is a much needed improvement that allows the clinic to better serve the needs of their patients, she said.

“We are able to store and provide more medication for patient care. Guadalupe Clinic receives donated medications through three programs. Having more space for locked storage allows us to increase use of these free programs creating for better inventory and distribution to patients.”

The clinic’s goal is to do as much as possible for the uninsured and underserved in the community, Guillemette said.
“Good health is a necessity to leading a productive life. When the clinic improves on efficiency by better utilizing work space, more patients can be seen each day.”

CLINIC OPEN HOUSE TUESDAY, SEPT. 20
THE GUADALUPE CLINIC IS CELEBRATING THEIR REMODELED WORK SPACE AT AN OPEN HOUSE
FROM 4:30 TO 6:30 P.M. TUESDAY, SEPT. 20. FATHER DAVID LIES, VICAR GENERAL OF THE 
 DIOCESE OF WICHITA, WILL BLESS THE WORK AT 5:30 P.M.

By: Gemma Rajewski Catholic Advance
Catholic Diocese of Wichita

www.CatholicAdvance.com