Mercy Care saw more patients in fiscal year 2024 than in any other year in our 40-year history. This was only possible because of the dedication of our staff and all those who support our core values: commitment to the poor, reverence, justice, stewardship, compassion, excellence and integrity. It takes all of these and all of us to provide more than 79,500 appointments to more than 18,600 people in 12 months.
As we plan for a future that continues to grow the number of people served year over year, we worked intensely with our staff and patients to understand how we got here. They made clear that our work begins with engagement. Mercy Care serves people who have been excluded from other systems, other opportunities and full participation in our community. We can only begin to care for them when they feel they belong. This isn’t a small thing or an afterthought at Mercy Care but a critical element of our work. Relationships are built over time and result in better health for all patients.
Mercy Care saw more patients in fiscal year 2024 than in any other year in our history.
Our model of integrated healthcare means we serve the whole person—physically, mentally and spiritually, sometimes addressing the underlying issues preventing them from achieving good health. Where needed we help individuals move into housing, find new opportunities, and access food, identification documents, warm clothes and other necessities. Mercy Care works with countless partners to ensure patients get what they need to stabilize and thrive.
While we were able to care for more patients than ever before, a lot hasn’t changed: we still meet people where they are, put patients in the center of care, invert the burden away from those in need and carry forward the legacy of the Sisters of Mercy by providing comfort and support to those who need it most.
Thank you for all you have done and will continue to do in the months and years ahead to support this important work. As we mark our 40th year in 2025, please join us as we serve and as we celebrate together.
Abundantly grateful,
Kathryn Lawler CEO St. Joseph’s / Mercy Care
18,688 clients served
76,522 total visits
6,337 average visits per month
Model of Care
Our model of care begins with engagement. Mercy Care patients have often been on the margins of the healthcare system—whether from lack of insurance, cultural or language barriers, previous negative interactions or experiencing homelessness. Mercy Care providers welcome each patient with compassion and work with them on their journey to good health.
Maria visited Mercy Care out of increasing concern over a growth on her eyelid. When optometrist James Stewart advised Maria she needed to have the tumor removed, she admitted to being scared. As Maria says, “I had excuse after excuse not to remove it.”
Recognizing Maria needed a little extra support, nurse Jarene Merritt arranged transportation to the Chamblee clinic for the minor surgery with Dr. Stewart. According to Maria, “[Nurse Merritt] helped me get to the clinic, complete my paperwork, and also made sure I saw a doctor for my blood pressure!’”
Maria’s eyelid has healed, and her blood pressure is in a healthy range. Her experience is an example of how Mercy Care providers ensure patients receive the care they need in a way that honors their personal situation. Maria summed up her experience by saying, “Mercy Care is the best.”
Dr. Barbee and her team were exceptional. I am overwhelmed with joy from the amount of kindness, care and concern for my well-being. The team will always have a special place in my heart.” – Dental Patient
Mercy Care providers welcome each patient with compassion and work with them on their journey to good health.
THOUGH PATHS TO STABILITY AND THRIVING VARY, WE SUPPORT EVERY PATIENT THROUGH THEIR ENTIRE JOURNEY.
Serving the Whole Family
Mercy Care recently became the healthcare home for a family new to Atlanta. A mother and daughter who emigrated from Colombia under asylum status came into our Chamblee clinic seeking assistance.
The family of four had been in Atlanta for four months but was unsuccessful registering their 10-year-old child for school. They needed both an immunization certificate and certificate of vision, hearing, dental and nutrition screening. The mother had the child’s vaccine records in Spanish but was unable to get the certificates completed with other service providers.
Then the Mercy Care team stepped in.
• Financial Counselor Gladys Guzman confirmed the family obtained insurance under the Affordable Care Act and advised mom to apply for Mercy Care’s sliding fee scale discount.
• Pediatrician Dr. Renee Alli reviewed the child’s vaccine records and assured mom she could provide the certificates required for school during their newly scheduled well-child appointment.
• Community Health Worker Wendy Pimentel spoke with mom about childcare options for her two-year-old son so both parents could find work.
Thanks to Mercy Care’s wrap-around support, this young family will receive the healthcare they need and access to services that will help them build a new life in Atlanta.
SERVICES IMPACT
Numbers below indicate patient visits per program in FY24
MEDICAL
34,564
MENTAL HEALTH
15,380
10,302
CASE MANAGEMENT
8,773
SUBSTANCE ABUSE DENTAL
3,549
VISION PATIENT EDUCATION
3,294 660
Chamblee deserves a thousand stars. They truly went over and beyond to give my children the care they needed and deserve. This will most definitely be our primary care team.” - Pediatric Patient Parent
Socioeconomic Support
Rapid Rehousing Program
In March 2024 Mercy Care received a grant from Partners for Home to connect individuals who were living in encampments under bridges with permanent housing. Our Street Medicine and Community Health Outreach Program teams worked with these individuals to secure temporary shelter and coordinate their transition into housing.
The first three clients moved into their new apartments in early April, and 54 clients received housing by June 30, 2024. The grant covers rent and utilities for several months to help our clients get stabilized. Mercy Care is grateful on behalf of our clients for the quick access to housing and we will continue move-ins though this
Good Health
Partners in Healthcare
As a Federally Qualified Health Center with Atlanta’s only healthcare for the homeless program, Mercy Care works at the intersection of health and social services.
Patients may enter the door for immediate health concerns, but they often need and receive wrap-around support from community partners to maintain good health.
63-year-old patient Mike, a man experiencing homelessness, came to Mercy Care for behavioral health care. Case manager Harold Alexander works with patients like Mike to support their health care plan, remove barriers to care, and connect them with resources in the community.
Harold helped Mike replace his Social Security card, restore disability benefits, and explore housing options. Remarkably, Harold also found Mike’s long-lost sister Shirley in Florida.
In December 2023 Mike reunited with Shirley. For the first time in a decade, Mike was home for the holidays.
ABOUT THE PATIENTS
CHILDREN
25% 82% 65% 74%
ADULTS were children were at or below the poverty line did not have insurance were Hispanic/Latino
Stability and Thriving
From Despair to Hope: Michelle’s Journey with Mercy Care
Michelle arrived at Mercy Care’s Recuperative Care program when she had hit rock bottom. Experiencing homelessness and struggling with addiction, she was sleeping on the streets when a car ran her over, landing her in Grady Memorial Hospital for an extended stay.
But this traumatic event was a turning point. “Getting run over was the best thing that ever happened to me,” Michelle reflects, “because it brought me to Mercy Care.”
Life on the streets had been brutal for Michelle. She endured regular sexual assaults and turned to drugs and alcohol to numb the pain of her daily existence. When she was released from the hospital, she had nowhere to go—until Mercy Care stepped in.
In the Recuperative Care program, Michelle was embraced by a compassionate team dedicated to addressing all aspects of her well-being. The staff supported her in making concrete plans toward stability, from helping her replace lost identification to continuing her addiction recovery and attending crucial medical appointments.
Mercy Care’s integrated approach made all the difference. By April 2024, Michelle achieved a milestone she once thought impossible: moving into her own apartment.
“I have a home of my own where I won’t have to deal with those horrible things anymore,” Michelle says, her voice filled with emotion. “Because of Mercy Care, I’m safe and alive.”
By providing medical care, and comprehensive case management, Mercy Care helps individuals like Michelle reclaim their lives and thrive.
HEALTH
DISPARITIES PREVENT OPTIMAL HEALTH FOR SOME
59% of adult patients identify as Black
77% of patients experiencing homelessness are Black
68% of adult patients who live below the poverty level are Black
5%
Increase of patients reporting food insecurity, housing insecurity, financial strain and/or lack of transportation
Barbara Rogers and Tracy Booker, BCCP Coordinator
Sharing Mission, Raising Funds
Donors & Volunteers
Twenty Years of Service
Our volunteer medical providers are board certified in various specialties, including psychiatry, dermatology, preventive medicine, internal medicine, gynecology, emergency medicine, gastroenterology, family practice, pediatrics and pulmonology. By donating their time to Mercy Care, they not only expand our clinical capacity but also provide critical expertise for patients needing specialized medical care.
Dr. Stephen Benoit joined Mercy Care as a volunteer medical provider in fall 2004. As a career epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Benoit did not have a day-to-day medical practice. He valued the opportunity to serve patients at Mercy Care’s Chamblee clinic, where his specialized knowledge in preventive care and diabetes, and his fluent Spanish, were particularly helpful. Committing one morning a week to the clinic for almost 20 years, Dr. Benoit developed strong doctor-patient relationships with families. He has been known to visit patients during hospitalizations, serving as a knowledgeable advocate as needed.
For over 20 years, Barbara Rogers has been a devoted volunteer for Mercy Care’s breast health services. Launched in 1995 with a focus on serving high-risk Black and Hispanic women in metro Atlanta, the Breast and Cervical Cancer Program (BCCP) works to increase the early detection of breast cancer by providing a continuum of care to address the economic, cultural and linguistic barriers often faced by low-income minority women.
Barbara began volunteering with Mercy Care when it offered mammograms on a mobile mammography unit at the clinic’s downtown location. The mobile unit would park at the clinic and Barbara assisted with greeting and registering patients. While the mobile was retired due to technology advances, Barbara’s commitment to Mercy Care and ensuring all women have access to breast health services remains steadfast.
In spring 2024 Barbara offered to host a peer fundraiser to support Mercy Care’s breast health program. With a goal of raising $50,000, Barbara appealed to her friends and colleagues to share Mercy Care’s mission and invite their financial support. As of July 2024, Barbara’s outreach has inspired over 40 donors to give more than $45,000, leading her to increase her goal to $60,000!
Dr. Benoit recently retired from the Public Health Service and relocated to the northeast, where he plans to continue serving Spanish-speaking patients in need of healthcare. Mercy Care is grateful for his partnership and commitment to our healing mission.
THANK YOU TO OUR VOLUNTEERS
Individual volunteers and volunteer groups help Mercy Care serve its clients in myriad ways—from building meal and hygiene kits, to helping with health fairs, and collecting, organizing and distributing gifts of warmth during winter.
466
Individual volunteers
31 Volunteer groups
Volunteer Medical Providers contribute their medical skills to expand Mercy Care’s health services for patients
20
Total volunteer medical providers
422
Total hours served
$42,200
Value of the medical service provided
There are things the poor prize more highly than gold, though they cost the donor nothing; among these are the kind word, the gentle, compassionate look, and the patient hearing of their sorrows.”
- Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy
FOR MORE INFORMATION: 678-843-8670 mercyatlanta.org
