S7E5: A Legacy of Healing: Inside Seager Memorial Clinic's Mission w/ Jerika Mays & Marc Johnson

Today we are continuing our series of conversations with the
Kempsey Gardner Policy Institute's 2024 Informed Decision Makers.
These are individuals and entities that are recognized for their
unique contributions to the prosperity of our community here in
Utah.





Here today to get a little bit of the fanfare they deserve are
Jerika Mays and Dr. Mark Johnson from the Seager Memorial
Clinic.  The clinic's mission is to provide underserved
populations and individuals with easy-to-access, nonjudgmental,
medical, dental, vision, and mental health care. Everything the
clinic does is 100 percent free to everyone seeking care. 





Jerika serves as the Executive Director of the Seager Memorial
Clinic and Dr. Mark Johnson is Vice Chair of the Clinic's Board
as well as the Clinic's Volunteer Medical Director. 





Listen in as Jerika, Dr. Johnson and Frances discuss the vital
role of the Seager Memorial Clinic in providing free,
nonjudgmental healthcare to underserved populations in Utah. Our
guests highlight the significant barriers to healthcare access
and how the clinic addresses these challenges. We’ll also explore
the clinic's volunteer-driven model, the economic and social
impact of healthcare access, and plans for expansion. 





Eccles Business Buzz is a production of the David Eccles School
of Business and is produced by University fm.



Episode Quotes:




What it means to receive nonjudgmental healthcare
according to Dr. Mark Johnson





[Dr. Marc Johnson]: 19:05: We don't screen
patients at the front door or the front desk to try to determine
what their financial situation is. So, we don't ask, do they have
insurance, do they have Medicare, do they have Medicaid? What's
their demographics? We don't ask for W-2 forms. We don't ask for
citizenship documentation, et cetera. So, in that regard, we just
take all comers. Patients don't have to worry that they have to
produce a lot of documents, you know, to prove that they are in
need.





I guess the second part would be the volunteers not judging the
patients for, you know, why they are there. There are people
there for lots of different reasons. We do see a fair number of
patients who have addictions. We see a fair number of patients
who are homeless. We see some patients who have just come out of
prison. We see patients who speak different languages, come from
different backgrounds, some have insurance, some don't. And I
think the culture is that we accept them for who they are and
withhold judgment. So, I think that helps patients feel welcome
because I think, in a lot of cases, those circumstances, you
know, they may feel judged before even being seen.





Making healthcare more accessible to the
community





[Jerika Mays] 14:02: I think
it's easy for patients who don't have insurance to put off their
health. You know, they might need to be seen, but they put it off
because they don't have a point of access or they aren't in a
place financially to afford it.


Even if they do have insurance, maybe the copay is a barrier,
right? So, patients might often put it off until it becomes an
emergency and they might go to the emergency room. And at that
time, it can be a real financial challenge because that can be a
big cost for the patient and their family. So, I think by making
it more accessible, they feel more comfortable coming to us in
those early stages and receiving care before it becomes an
emergency.





Plans for expansion: Creating more space to serve more
people





[Jerika Mays] 27:27: Something
we're very excited about is we're in the process of transforming
Ogden's former Family History Library on 24th Street into our new
home, where we'll have much more space to expand our services,
expand our hours, and see more people in the community. The space
is over 7,000 square feet. And we'll include nine exam rooms, a
dental suite with three dental operatories, a Class A charitable
pharmacy, a room where we can start offering group classes like
diabetes management or mental health wellness. We'll have three
spaces dedicated for mental health therapy in the future. So, I
feel like this space is really going to be a game-changer for our
community.



Show Links:

Seager Memorial Clinic

Board and Leadership - seagerclinic.org

Jerika Mays | LinkedIn

Million-Dollar Murray | The New Yorker

David Eccles School of Business (@ubusiness) • Instagram

Eccles Alumni Network (@ecclesalumni) • Instagram