Dear volunteers, friends and benefactors,
As we draw this month of September to a close, my heart is full of gratitude for each of you, who give so generously to the Lord through this mission. The month of September is filled with important saints and Marian feast days that we can draw inspiration from. Particularly poignant for me, as a Religious Sister of Mercy, was the recent Feast of Our Lady of Mercy on September 24. The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy has a heart full of compassion for all. She intercedes for us at the throne of heavenly grace so that we may be more united with the Lord in His merciful work by being freed from the bonds of sin and by drawing from her motherly example. As Mother of the Lord, she united herself most perfectly with her Divine Son and His work of Redemption. She has the deepest knowledge of His sacrifice on Calvary and His outpouring of mercy for all of humanity.
The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy invites us to confidently approach the heavenly throne of grace to receive mercy ourselves and to find the grace in our time of need. She shows us perfectly how to accompany another in suffering, for she stood with the only sinful and innocent One in His outpouring of love and mercy for each of us. With Our Blessed Mother, we strive to manifest Christ’s love and mercy to the suffering ones who come to us for care. As we practice the works of mercy, we serve Christ Himself through those most in need. “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of my brethren, you did it to me.” Whatever we do to our disadvantaged neighbors, we do to Christ Himself. He identifies Himself always with the sick poor. We give ourselves to Christ by giving ourselves to those we serve in this mission of mercy and healing.
We bring you this fall edition of the newsletter to share the fruits of our labors together in the vineyard of the Lord. Thank you for all you provide through your time and service and your financial support of these works of mercy. All that you give is given to Christ the Lord, present in our uninsured patients. Thank you for your faithful and generous service and support of this great mission! May you be richly blessed for your participation in His mercy!
In Christ Jesus,
Sister Mary Rachel Nerbun, RSM, MD, President and Medical Director, RPC
Our patients so often express their gratitude for the loving, transformative care we provide on the Rural Parish Dental Clinic. We give our all for each patient. When we are able to deeply impact a life through our care, the Lord is glorified! Recently, one of our patients provided a beautiful witness by writing to us:
“How do I even begin to thank you for making me smile again? I just can’t describe my joy. I am no longer in pain and have no more embarrassment. I can’t wait to smile for my Grandkids when I get home. They haven’t seen my smile in so long. Thank you is not nearly enough. God bless each one on your team.”
With utmost gratitude, we thank each of you who give so generously to this mission through your time and talents and through your donations. The Rural Parish Clinic would not exist without volunteers. You provide dedication, hard work, and heart-felt service to each person we come in contact with! You are appreciated.
The Rural Parish Dental Clinic is also extremely excited to announce the grand opening of its sixth dental site in October 2023! The dental clinic will offer care in Ste. Genevieve County. We have formed a semi-circle of rural dental care around the Archdiocese to those most in need, ranging from Lincoln now to Ste. Genevieve.
We thank all those who have also helped with the Parish Visit Fundraisers over the summer. Both clinics have traveled to six parishes within the Archdiocese in order to seek additional financial support for our work and recruit volunteers. We have welcomed several new volunteers over the summer from those parishes to help us further our work to care for the uninsured, income qualifying adults in need.
Please continue to keep all our staff, volunteers, and patients in your prayer. We pray that through our faith in Jesus Christ, we may have a greater impact on the underserved communities within the rural Archdiocesan region.
Gregory Casalone, DDS
Co-Director, RPC Dental
Co-Director, RPC Dental
As one of the Patrons of the Archdiocese, the life of St. Vincent de Paul is probably known to many of you. If not, there are many resources online that outline his life and his work. His works are continued by the St. Vincent de Paul groups and societies around the world.
St. Vincent de Paul carried on a special mission to serve the rural sick, poor, and elderly. He often preached on the need to serve the poor in addition to practically organizing others to carry out this service with him and offering money for the relief of the poor. I offer for your reflection a writing of his own, used in the Divine Office:
Even though the poor are often rough and unrefined, we must not judge them from external appearances nor from the mental gifts they seem to have received. On the contrary, if you consider the poor in the light of faith, then you will observe that they are taking the place of the Son of God who chose to be poor. Although in his passion he almost lost the appearance of a man and was considered a fool by the Gentiles and a stumbling block by the Jews, he showed them that his mission was to preach to the poor: He sent me to preach the good news to the poor. We also ought to have this same spirit and imitate Christ’s actions, that is, we must take care of the poor, console them, help them, support their cause.
Since Christ willed to be born poor, he chose for himself disciples who were poor. He made himself the servant of the poor and shared their poverty. He went so far as to say that he would consider every deed which either helps or harms the poor as done for or against himself. Since God surely loves the poor, he also loves those who love the poor. For when one person holds another dear, he also includes in his affection anyone who loves or serves the one he loves. That is why we hope that God will love us for the sake of the poor. So when we visit the poor and needy, we try to understand the poor and weak. We sympathize with them so fully that we can echo Paul’s words: I have become all things to all men. Therefore, we must try to be stirred by our neighbors’ worries and distress. We must beg God to pour into our hearts sentiments of pity and compassion and to fill them again and again with these dispositions.
It is our duty to prefer the service of the poor to everything else and to offer such service as quickly as possible. If a needy person requires medicine or other help during prayer time, do whatever has to be done with peace of mind. Offer the deed to God as your prayer. Do not become upset or feel guilty because you interrupted your prayer to serve the poor. God is not neglected if you leave him for such service. One of God’s works is merely interrupted so that another can be carried out. So when you leave prayer to serve some poor person, remember that this very service is performed for God. Charity is certainly greater than any rule. Moreover, all rules must lead to charity. Since she is a noble mistress, we must do whatever she commands. With renewed devotion, then, we must serve the poor, especially outcasts and beggars. They have been given to us as our masters and patrons.
Since Christ willed to be born poor, he chose for himself disciples who were poor. He made himself the servant of the poor and shared their poverty. He went so far as to say that he would consider every deed which either helps or harms the poor as done for or against himself. Since God surely loves the poor, he also loves those who love the poor. For when one person holds another dear, he also includes in his affection anyone who loves or serves the one he loves. That is why we hope that God will love us for the sake of the poor. So when we visit the poor and needy, we try to understand the poor and weak. We sympathize with them so fully that we can echo Paul’s words: I have become all things to all men. Therefore, we must try to be stirred by our neighbors’ worries and distress. We must beg God to pour into our hearts sentiments of pity and compassion and to fill them again and again with these dispositions.
It is our duty to prefer the service of the poor to everything else and to offer such service as quickly as possible. If a needy person requires medicine or other help during prayer time, do whatever has to be done with peace of mind. Offer the deed to God as your prayer. Do not become upset or feel guilty because you interrupted your prayer to serve the poor. God is not neglected if you leave him for such service. One of God’s works is merely interrupted so that another can be carried out. So when you leave prayer to serve some poor person, remember that this very service is performed for God. Charity is certainly greater than any rule. Moreover, all rules must lead to charity. Since she is a noble mistress, we must do whatever she commands. With renewed devotion, then, we must serve the poor, especially outcasts and beggars. They have been given to us as our masters and patrons.
Julie Hudson joined the Rural Parish Clinic as the Dental Clinic Coordinator in March 2022. Although she had never worked in mobile dentistry or coordinated a dental office, Julie came to us with a rich clinical background as a dental assistant and the skills needed to face many challenges. She has a knack for organization, is handy with a toolbox, and holds a mission-driven heart to help the less fortunate.
Julie’s responsibilities include stocking, cleaning, and organizing the clinic and maintaining the dental equipment. Her dedication is clear by the way she handles the patients with care and kindness, and without judgement. She efficiently schedules the patients to maximize the time and make the volunteers’ days at the clinic as fulfilling as possible.
One of the biggest challenges Julie faced was reducing the number of patients who do not show up for their scheduled appointments because of life issues. When Julie came on board, the dental clinic was plagued with a no-show rate of around 50%. To Julie this was unacceptable, as she recognized that clinic time was golden, and we needed to stay as productive as possible. Julie rearranged how patients were scheduled, and the no-show rate is currently down to 15%.
The dental clinic faced a heartbreaking situation not once, but twice, when someone stole the power cord needed to power the van. Both times, Julie showed up and jumped the back-up generator battery, and managed to take care of all the patients that were expected to be seen at the clinic that day. This is a testament to her abilities and her dedication to each one of the volunteers and patients.
At the end of the day, her goal is to see that patients can live a life without pain and leave with a brand-new smile. The Rural Parish Clinic and the patients are so blessed that the Holy Spirit led Julie to this wonderful mission, and we are so grateful for her willingness to juggle it all through Jesus Christ.
“My favorite part of my job is seeing and talking with patients after we give them a denture and how it changes their lives. Seeing how happy they are and watching them regain their self-esteem gives me great joy. I also really enjoy working with all the volunteers. I am motivated by their sense of service and willingness to give.”
- Julie Hudson
- Julie Hudson
Linda volunteered with Dr. Landgraf at the Community Health in Partnership Services, located in north St. Louis City. They agreed that there was a great need for dental care in the rural communities and knew that producing a mobile clinic would be the only hope to reach the disadvantaged.
Linda Kamp was the first dental assistant for the Rural Parish Clinic and continues to generously volunteer her time and talents every month. Linda volunteered every day during the opening of the dental clinic. Without Linda’s dedication and creativity within the foundation and mission of RPC, RPC-Dental would not have been possible.
Linda‘s vast experience provides the skills to organize and properly stock the clinic, schedule patients and care for them, all while serving as clinical manager to assist in facilitating other volunteers as well. Her countless volunteer hours make our mission a reality, and we are forever grateful. We wish her blessings as she continues to touch lives with her generous heart and talents.
The Rural Parish Clinic not only relies on the kind hearts and generous donations from across the Archdiocese of St. Louis, but also from within the communities we serve. Many patients who use the RPC’s services have limited transportation or none. A substantial percentage of patients who miss their appointments cannot afford gasoline or find a ride to the clinic.
In December 2019, the Rural Parish Clinic set up a fuel voucher system at Gulf gas station in Potosi. All vouchers used were billed to the clinic which allowed all struggling patients a way to afford fuel whether be it a personal vehicle, or to pay for a ride.
Mr. Mike Miller is the owner and manager of the Gulf convenience store, 7 miles south of our first site in Cadet. Mike has not charged the clinic for any of these vouchers to date. He has stated that while it is in his ability, he will donate them as his way of giving back to the mission and the community. Thank you to Mike for being such a huge contribution to our mission, while helping us reach greater heights that may have been deemed Impossible without you.
Recently, a patient who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 and unable to work for a few weeks, had two medical and dental appointments in one day. This patient had been out of work and had gotten behind on bills, limiting gas purchases and the places she could travel. With the help of a fuel voucher from Gulf, provided by Mr. Mike Miller, she was able to make both appointments and even had money left over to travel to work.
Rural Parish Clinic values and appreciates donors like Mike who invest in their communities and give back in such a positive way.
This summer the Rural Parish Clinic embarked on a new program designed to enhance our relationships with Archdiocesan parishes and to identify individuals interested in supporting our mission. Since mid-June we have completed six weekend visits within St. Louis and Franklin County parishes. Supported by our parish priests and parishioner hosts, we were able to
speak at many weekend Masses and open the medical or dental van for parishioners to visit. Parishes visited include St. Clement of Rome, St. Gerard Majella, St. Alban Roe, St. Francis Borgia, St. Anselm, and Immacolata.
We have seen significant results. We estimate more than 700 individuals visited the vans and gained an understanding of how we change patients’ lives. We have also received well over $85,000 in new donations and pledges with more on its way; in addition, more than 25 volunteers have expressed interest.
Our sincere ‘Thanks’ to every volunteer who gave up additional time on these weekends to bring the Clinic’s mission closer to our fellow Catholics. Our final visit this summer is set for this weekend at St. Clare of Assisi in Ellisville.
Rural Parish Clinic is excited to announce that our new electronic medical record system, eClinicalWorks or eCW, was rolled out this summer! All of our volunteers have been incredibly generous in working with us during this change and have done a tremendous job learning our new EMR system.
Despite a few bumps in the road, we are happy to report that this has been a very positive experience for our staff and volunteers. Many of our medical nurse volunteers have voiced that eCW is very intuitive and easy to use. Patient advocates on our dental clinic have also loved using eCW.
One exciting feature eCW provides is maintaining an internal medication inventory system. The system gives us the opportunity to further develop our dispensary, which means we can provide more medications to our patients free of charge, directly from our medical and dental clinics. Having our dental and medical clinics on the same EMR system will increase efficiency.
Volunteer - Click HERE
Donate - Give online or by mail to RPC:
20 Archbishop May Dr.
St. Louis, MO 63119
20 Archbishop May Dr.
St. Louis, MO 63119
Pray - Join the RPC Spiritual Apostolate
Learn - Visit archstl.org/rpc