Claudia Sowell

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  www.timesleader.net/articles/stories/public/200801/09/4 - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 1/9/2008    Last Visited: 1/10/2008  

  Special thanks was extended to Claudia Sowell, director of the St. Luke Free Clinic, for providing the practitioners with contacts for a variety of donated or discounted medical equipment.

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  ACU's Clinician & Community - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 2/21/2000    Last Visited: 9/30/2000  

  Claudia Sowell
  
  Claudia Sowell, who has worked to provide free medical care to the working poor of three Kentucky rural counties, was named a recipient of the nation's most distinguished citation for community health leadership.As one of this year's ten outstanding individuals selected from across the nation, Claudia was recently awarded $ 100, 000 from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Community Health Leadership Program (CHLP).
  
  Claudia is the director of the St. Luke Free Clinic in Hopkinsville, which serves working poor who have no health insurance or cannot qualify for public assistance programs.Dismayed by how many of her clients suffered from preventable chronic medical problems, Claudia has developed health promotion programs for smokers, diabetics and people with hypertension.She overcame a shortage of physician volunteers by recruiting nurse practitioners and last year served 2, 900 clients.The clinic houses a pharmacy that is run by volunteers who apply for drug donations from pharmaceutical companies and samples from local physicians.
  
  ...
  Claudia originally planned to become a nun, but instead found her calling in nursing where she worked in a hospital, hospice, and doctor's practice.Despite being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis – she now uses a wheelchair – Claudia began working as St. Luke's full-time director when it was in a church basement in 1994.She now oversees 250 volunteers, including 43 physicians, 10 pharmacists, 20 nurses, a dietician, and 180 administrative personnel.
  
  Claudia is also founder and first president of the Free Clinic Association of Kentucky.
  ...
  Claudia and the other winners were honored in a ceremony in Washington, DC on June 21.Each received $ 95, 000 to enhance their programs and $ 5, 000 as a personal award.Claudia says her trip to Washington, DC was not only exciting but humbling.The other nine recipients are doing more than their share with helping the underserved across the United States..
  
  Claudia was selected from a field of 317 for this year's honor.During the past seven years, the Community Health Leadership Program has conferred the award on 71 individuals from 33 states and Puerto Rico.The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, headquartered in Princeton, NJ, is the largest private philanthropy dedicated to improving the health and health care of Americans.
  
  This year's award winners represent urban and rural areas in 10 states : Washington, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Arizona, New York, Michigan, California, and West Virginia.Winners of the CHLP awards are nominated by community leaders, health professionals, government officials, and others personally inspired by these leaders who provide essential community health services.
  
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  The future for St. Luke is very exciting! Expansion of educational projects geared toward dental hygiene, mental health, proper diet and, of course, health care is also on the horizon, says Claudia.The clinic is always striving to find ways to meet the needs of all the underserved..
  
  The board and staff of the ACU would like to personally congratulate Claudia on her success, and we wish her and the St. Luke Free Clinic the best for the future.
  
  Seeking Nominations for

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  Courier-Journal Local News - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 7/31/2000    Last Visited: 3/13/2001  

  I think it's wonderful , the clinic's executive director , Claudia Sowell , said of the video featuring the clinic.
  
  But I don't think we're the answer , said Sowell , herself a Democrat , not the whole answer..
  
  Lack of health insurance is a big problem in Kentucky and across the country.More than one-third of Kentucky adults with modest incomes -- defined as up to twice the poverty level , or $ 28 , 000 a year for a family of three -- do not have insurance , according to Families USA , a non-profit , non-partisan organization of health-care consumers that is based in Washington , D.C.
  
  Texas , where Bush is governor , is doing worse.
  ...
  I think it's wonderful , Executive Director Claudia Sowell said of plans by George W. Bush's campaign to showcase the clinic during a video at the Republican National Convention this week.
  
  In Hopkinsville , community leaders didn't wait for the outcome of the national debate on health insurance.They did what they could for themselves.
  
  ...
  A $ 100 , 000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will help provide more dental services and fill other needs , Sowell , the director , said.
  
  Clients must be working , recently unemployed , or disabled.The maximum income allowed is 185 percent of the federal poverty level.For examples , a single person making no more than $ 15 , 448 a year qualifies for the clinic , as does a family of four whose income does not exceed $ 31 , 543.
  
  Many patients are treated for chronic illnesses such as diabetes , high blood pressure and asthma , Sowell said.Before , they'd end up in the emergency room , and often they'd end up in intensive care , she said.
  
  ST. LUKE gets little public money.Baker originally went to the Kentucky General Assembly in 1994 to ask for immunity from malpractice suits for doctors who worked at the clinic.He ended up instead with a proposal for state-paid malpractice insurance , financed by a $ 1 fee on doctor and attorney licenses.Lawyers balked , and the fee was eventually dropped.
  
  Kentucky now pays for malpractice insurance for all registered free clinics.The payment saves St. Luke about $ 6 , 400 a year , Sowell said.
  
  Without that money , she said , we would be able to operate , but it would take away from our being able to give better care..
  
  Similar free clinics have sprung up elsewhere in Kentucky.Locations now include Hazard , Middlesboro , Lexington , Bowling Green , Owensboro , Somerset , Elizabethtown , Paducah and Louisville , with more opening soon.
  
  Volunteers are the life-blood of the operations.

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  Courier-Journal Local News - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 7/31/2000    Last Visited: 6/15/2001  

  I think it's wonderful , the clinic's executive director , Claudia Sowell , said of the video featuring the clinic.
  
  But I don't think we're the answer , said Sowell , herself a Democrat , not the whole answer..
  
  Lack of health insurance is a big problem in Kentucky and across the country.More than one-third of Kentucky adults with modest incomes -- defined as up to twice the poverty level , or $28 , 000 a year for a family of three -- do not have insurance , according to Families USA , a non-profit , non-partisan organization of health-care consumers that is based in Washington , D.C.
  
  Texas , where Bush is governor , is doing worse.
  ...
  I think it's wonderful , Executive Director Claudia Sowell said of plans by George W. Bush's campaign to showcase the clinic during a video at the Republican National Convention this week.
  
  In Hopkinsville , community leaders didn't wait for the outcome of the national debate on health insurance.They did what they could for themselves.
  
  ...
  A $100 , 000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will help provide more dental services and fill other needs , Sowell , the director , said.
  
  Clients must be working , recently unemployed , or disabled.The maximum income allowed is 185 percent of the federal poverty level.For examples , a single person making no more than $15 , 448 a year qualifies for the clinic , as does a family of four whose income does not exceed $31 , 543.
  
  Many patients are treated for chronic illnesses such as diabetes , high blood pressure and asthma , Sowell said.Before , they'd end up in the emergency room , and often they'd end up in intensive care , she said.
  
  ST. LUKE gets little public money.Baker originally went to the Kentucky General Assembly in 1994 to ask for immunity from malpractice suits for doctors who worked at the clinic.He ended up instead with a proposal for state-paid malpractice insurance , financed by a $1 fee on doctor and attorney licenses.Lawyers balked , and the fee was eventually dropped.
  
  Kentucky now pays for malpractice insurance for all registered free clinics.The payment saves St. Luke about $6 , 400 a year , Sowell said.
  
  Without that money , she said , we would be able to operate , but it would take away from our being able to give better care..
  
  Similar free clinics have sprung up elsewhere in Kentucky.Locations now include Hazard , Middlesboro , Lexington , Bowling Green , Owensboro , Somerset , Elizabethtown , Paducah and Louisville , with more opening soon.
  
  Volunteers are the life-blood of the operations.

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  Kentucky New Era Online -- News Article: Breast Cancer... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 10/23/2001    Last Visited: 10/23/2001  

  The thing about cancer is that it is fantastically curable if it's detected early enough , said St. Luke's Free Clinic executive director Claudia Sowell , who hopes to drive that point home with Christian County area women throughout the month.
  
  Sowell and other members and volunteers with the Pennyrile Area Women's Cancer Detection and Education Coalition are gearing up for their fourth annual Women's Free Screening Clinic to be held Oct. 30 at several area locations.
  
  Everyone's working together , turnout has been excellent…we were already filled to capacity for appointments by Oct. 16 , Sowell added.
  
  According to Oncology Care International , the lifetime risk for American women to develop breast cancer is one in eight.An estimated 192 , 200 new cases of breast cancer occur annually.More than 40 , 600 women die each year from the disease.
  
  Women , age 40 and older who are uninsured and have not had a mammogram or pap smear in the last 12 months , are eligible for a free screening through the coalition , which will include a mammogram , pap smear , educational information and a counseling session.
  
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  The original deadline for making an appointment was set for this Wednesday ; however , according to Sowell , all available times are already filled.
  
  We didn't fill all the available slots last year , so they cut down our numbers for this year , and now , a week ahead of time , we've already filled all 70 available spaces , she explained.
  
  Sowell credits the surge in attendance to many things , including word of mouth.
  
  On the first day of registration , we were registering four at a time because we have four nurse practitioners working at a time , Sowell said.One lady said she'd tell her daughter about it and five minutes later , the daughter called to register…five minutes after that , her mother–in–law called in also..
  
  Attributing the attendance numbers to word of mouth advertising is just one thing organizers hope to verify through implementing a survey to gauge participant involvement at the end of each screening this year.
  
  This year , the coalition is restructuring , Sowell explained.We want to get a better picture of our patients with a poll on age , family history as well as how they heard about the screening..
  
  While anxious to see the number of repeat customers , Sowell is also curious to see what the patients would do if not for the free screenings offered by the coalition.
  
  I'm interested to know where they'd have gone for pap smear or mammogram tests if not for this screening , or if they'd even bother to go get one , she pondered , adding that we need to see who we're reaching and if we need to broaden our area..
  
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  The students will kind of be ‘hand holders' throughout the process , taking patients back and forth from Jennie Stuart , filling out forms and guiding them through the screening , Sowell explained.

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  Kentucky New Era Online -- News Article: Hunter estate... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 11/23/2002    Last Visited: 11/23/2002  

  Claudia Sowell, director of St. Luke, was invited to receive a check for $20,000.
  
  Willen is a former director of the children's' home.
  
  The church received its first check of $30,000.

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  The Kentucky New Era - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 7/12/2005    Last Visited: 7/13/2005  

  Claudia Sowell, executive director of St. Luke Free Clinic said the 13th annual Whale of a Sale that took place the past two weekends had set a goal of raising $20,000.
  
  Although the event had good donations and a large turnout, Sowell said it did not reach its goal and earned about what it did last year.
  
  Board members are trying new methods to raise money for the clinic.They have been writing grants and planning fundraiser events.
  
  "We pray that something will open up and we'll receive some money," Sowell said.
  
  If funding does not become available, the outcome could be devastating to patients, employees and volunteers.
  
  The clinic would have to shut down and patients would lose healthcare, employees would lose their jobs and the community would lose a much-needed resource.
  
  Aside from the financial issues, Sowell said it would be devastating emotionally to the 14 volunteer physicians, 13 Registered Nurses, five pharmacists, five-laboratory specialist and five St. Luke employees that take care of these patients.
  ...
  Yet Sowell said cutting back on patients is not an option.
  
  "We try to take all that we can," she said.
  ...
  Sowell said that donations could be brought by the clinic or mailed and that it could be in honor or memory of someone.
  
  Many have donated regularly.
  
  "We appreciate that.We have monthly donors and one-time donors.We cannot thank those people enough."Sowell said.

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  The Kentucky New Era - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 9/21/2005    Last Visited: 9/22/2005  

  Claudia Sowell, executive director at St. Luke, said she appreciates the generosity of the Detraz family.
  
  "It certainly will help out our patients by helping to keep our doors open," Sowell said.

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  The Kentucky New Era - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 7/1/2005    Last Visited: 7/6/2005  

  Claudia Sowell, executive director of St. Luke Free Clinic, said the clinic's grant funding will soon be gone.
  
  "We were working off of some large grants in the past, but those grants had to be spent by 2004," she said.
  ...
  Sowell said it takes about $11,000-$12,000 to run the clinic each month.Yet the $20,000 would help some.
  
  "The goal would just be a small drop in the bucket so to speak, it would only keep us open for half a month," Sowell said.
  
  Even though the clinic is in a bigger need, the annual Whale of a Sale would help offset some of the costs the clinic needs to stay in operation.
  
  "If it's not met it would put a hardship on the clinic and from that perspective we would have 11 months to operate and keep the door open," Sowell said.
  ...
  "It's a really exciting part of the sale," Sowell said.
  ...
  The board is working on other ways to secure funds, Sowell said.
  
  "It's fun, but it's hard work… the outcome is what we're after," Sowell said."We're meeting a need for those in our community…. while trying to keep the clinic open."
  
  "The community has been fantastic with their donation of goods," Sowell said.

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  The Kentucky New Era - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 10/12/2005    Last Visited: 10/12/2005  

  Despite the frequent usage of the facility, Claudia Sowell, executive director of the clinic, said the future of St. Luke is uncertain.
  
  Sowell said it costs about $120,000 each year to operate the facility.As of Aug. 31, St. Luke's expenses have exceeded the clinic's income by $100,000.If more funds are not raised soon, Sowell expects the clinic to close its doors in March.
  
  "We are in dire straits, pure and simple," Sowell said."We are using every bit of money and assets we have to stay open."
  
  In recent years, the medical facility has lost several large government grants and donations to the facility have declined leading to its current fiscal status, Sowell said.
  
  As a result, in June the clinic cut back on its personnel from four part-time staff positions to three.The clinic also has two full-time employees and more than 120 volunteers.
  
  Sowell said when the clinic was established patients were treated for more acute conditions.Today, patients are receiving care for more complex, chronic conditions, she said.
  
  For those conditions, the clinic offers access to specialists in the community who provide care free of charge or at a reduced rate to St. Luke patients.
  
  "We have our door open to those people who are trying to make it," Sowell said.
  ...
  Sowell said more nurse practitioners, doctors and other people are needed to provide the medical treatment the community desperately needs.
  
  "We need major community support," she said.

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