Roselawn Lutheran Church

 

Roselawn Home

Serving Our Neighbors

Worship, Liturgy & Music

News & Events

Newsletters

Login

Providing Health Care
In March of 2006, after overcoming zoning and financial barriers, Roselawn Lutheran Church and the Cincinnati Dental Society opened a free dental clinic for children. The clinic initially served the children at the adjacent Roselawn Condon School, a city elementary school where 65 percent of the children come from families whose incomes are below the federal poverty level. The clinic is now serving children from every neighborhood in the city. The clinic is staffed by volunteer pediatric dentists and assistants and other members of the Cincinnati Dental Society, as well as residents in the Pediatric Dentistry Program at Children's Hospital Medical Center. To make the clinic accessible to disabled children, Christ Cathedral Church provided $12,500 for a chair lift. Roselawn Lutheran Church provided $20,000 to get the clinic running and  the Cincinnati Dental Society donated $75,000 of dental chairs, X-ray machines, darkroom equipment, sterilizers, dental utensils and supplies and office furniture. Local dentists have created a foundation to which tax-deductible donations for support of the clinic can be made. (Contact Vicki Nixon at 984-3443.) Thanks to: Dr. Frank Wright who proposed the clinic; to Susan Noonan, Roselawn youth mentor who brought Dr. Wright and Pastor Redder together; the center's Executive Director, Vicki Nixon; Dr. Dale Siemer, president of the Cincinnati Dental Society; Dr. Linda Smith, a leader in the project and a center volunteer; Mark Mullen, volunteer general contractor; Shawn Cleary, volunteer dental equipment designer; and project coordinator Barb Kley.




The Cincinnati Eye Institute Foundation and Roselawn Lutheran Church have joined together to establish a free eye clinic. The doctors and employees of Cincinnati Eye Institute Foundation volunteer their time and skills to provide basic screening and eye exams for the working poor. The clinic, which was created with $150,000 of donated money and services, operates on  Saturday mornings.

Those interested in becoming patients of the eye clinic should contact the church office at 821-5730.

From the Business Courier of Cincinnati - by James Ritchie- Staff Reporter

Friday, January 18, 2008

A free eye clinic will open in Roselawn, serving low-income adults through a partnership of the Ciuncinnati Eye Institute Foundation and Roselawn Lutheran Church.

The project is the first for the foundation, which formed nearly a year-and-a-half ago and receives money from donors both inside and outside Cincinnati Eye Institute, a practice with about 45 doctors. The once-a-month clinic, created with $150,000 of donated money and services, will start Saturday morning at Roselawn Lutheran.

"After much due diligence and research, we think we've uncovered a need in the community - eye care for underserved adults who do not qualify for any government eye care and who do not make enough money to have their own ophthalmologist or optometrist," said Don Holmes, executive director of the foundation.

With early detection, many eye problems can be controlled so they don't lead to further vision loss or surgery, he said.

Putting the clinic in the church at 1608 Summit Road required a renovation of classroom space. The church also houses a dental clinic in cooperation with the Cincinnati Dental Society. The renovation work was done, and equipment was supplied, through contributions by local and national businesses.

"If you go into either clinic room, it looks for all the world like you're going into a dental office or you're going into an eye clinic," said Ron Redder, pastor of the church, which has 50 to 60 members.

He added: "We try to respond not just to spiritual needs, but also to health needs."

In March, the church plans to open a food pantry.

The eye clinic, with two exam rooms, plans to serve 30 or more patients per each Saturday session. All doctors and clinical support staff will be volunteers, the majority of them from Cincinnati Eye Institute for now.

"We can do everything in this clinic from the checkup through to the end, except surgery," said Dr. Hishan Arar, an ophthalmologist serving as medical director for the project.

When problems are identified, treatment will be handled through donated services, such as medications from pharmaceutical companies and vouchers from Lenscrafters.  Advanced follow-up like surgery will be done at sites such as University Hospital or the Cincinnati Eye Institute.


From the Cincinnati Enquirer, Saturday January 19, 2007 -  Stepfanie Romine

Andrea Williams is diabetic, and her mother has cataracts and glaucoma, so she pays close attention to changes in her eyesight and tries to make yearly visits to the eye doctor. But without vision insurance, she said an eye exam and the glasses she has worn since age 14 cost at least $200.

Williams, 49, of Mount Healthy, was among 16 patients to find help Saturday morning at the new free Roselawn Eye Clinic at Roselawn Lutheran Church, 1608 Summit Road. “It’s pretty cool,” said Williams. “People need a place to go because glasses are so expensive.”

A project of the Cincinnati Eye Institute Foundation, the volunteer-run clinic serves low-income adults who do not have health insurance coverage for vision care. The foundation is the charitable arm of the Cincinnati Eye Institute ophthalmology group in Blue Ash.

“People have spiritual needs but then think they have material needs as well, and we’re in a good spot to help them,” said the Rev. Ron Redder of Roselawn Lutheran Church.

The church is also home to a children’s dental clinic, said CEI Foundation executive director Don Holmes, and had space for the eye clinic. He and Redder started talking years ago, and chose the eye clinic as the foundation’s first community project. The clinic has received more than $150,000 in aid and services, said CEI Foundation development director Amy Scrivner.

On Saturday, Dr. Rob Foster and a dozen volunteers from Cincinnati Eye Institute saw a case of narrow angle glaucoma, a molelike growth on a retina and routine changes in eyeglass prescriptions. Patients also received vouchers for free glasses.

Williams said she’s glad her church told her about the clinic.

“I know how important it is to have your eyes,” she said.
Roselawn Lutheran Church is working with the Center for Closing the Health Gap in Greater Cincinnati. The center is committed to addressing the health disparities among underserved populations in the Cincinnati area. Several people from Roselawn have attended the Health Leadership Institute for Faith Based Organizations which assists organizations in developing health ministries. Dwight Tillery, the organization's President and Chief Executive Officer, is a friend and supporter of Roselawn. He is a frequent guest and speaker and recently nominated Pastor Redder, representing the church, as one of the Cincinnati Business Courier's "Health Care Heroes."