In the patient lobby of this Fort Myers clinic, the bookshelf isn’t stocked with glossy magazines. There’s no Men’s Health or Time. Instead, rows of Bibles and scripture booklets wait to be taken home, all free. It’s a running theme.
“Who in their right mind would set up a free clinic and volunteer to do that and take care of the sickest people in the world for free? Like, who else would do that, except a Christian?” said Alan Groening, D.O., the clinic’s founder. “I don’t see atheists doing that. So that’s why we do this, because we love Jesus.”
Groening said he felt called by God to open Christian Medical Ministries in 2010, on the anniversary of Hurricane Charley. He had once run a nonprofit medical clinic in Charlotte County, but after several years away, he felt the urge to return.
Through the lobby door lies a narrow hallway, each exam room slightly different. One is set up like a traditional medical space, with a bed. Another has a wooden cross on the wall. In yet another, a large white inflatable tube dominates the center of the room.
“What is that? People think it’s like a space chamber. Somebody said it looked like a literal death chamber,” said clinic director Anna Hogan, laughing. She explained it’s a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, one of several tools used to treat patients who often fall through the cracks of the healthcare system. The clinic serves people earning less than 300% of the federal poverty level. Its specialty is treating biotoxin illnesses, including Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome and Lyme disease. It also offers mental health counseling and over-the-counter medication. But medicine isn’t the only focus.
“I ask them, ‘Hey, would it be OK if I prayed with you?’ And they’re like, ‘Oh yeah, please. Let’s do that,’” Groening said. “But if somebody doesn’t want to, I don’t force that. We don’t require people to be religious to come here. People come here of all faiths, persuasions, atheists, whatever they are — they can come here, and we’re happy to help them.”
Christian Medical Ministries is open from Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 11934 Fairway Lakes Dr #2, Fort Myers, FL 33913.
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