Healthcare services: It is something many throughout the nation don’t have access to. But one woman who has been in those shoes is working to change that here in the CSRA.
And with the cut of a ribbon Shifa Care Clinic made it official. A promise to care for some of the most vulnerable adults in our community: The uninsured and under privileged all for free.
“We provide great services… just like a regular clinic would be,” Physician Assistant Shamim Mohammad and owner of the clinic said.
Her family came to the states in the 80’s.. Mohammad told us at times, her husband would be in between jobs. With small children, she struggled to find medical help for her sick loved ones: “I thought, I mean, there should be some type of clinic out there to help others, but I did not find any. I had to really beg for people to write prescriptions for my children.”
After experiencing that sad reality, Mohammad’s passion to help others in her same boat came to fruition. She wasted no time– from volunteering in health facilities in Pakistan to clinics in churches and even at the Medical College of Georgia: “I said to myself, ‘I’m a graduate in America. How come I cannot do such a thing?'”
So Shifa Care Clinic Inc was born.
Mohammad explained there’s really nothing they cannot do. Staffed with licensed physicians, physician assistants, nurses and other health care professionals, volunteers spend one Saturday out of the month providing mental, physical and eye health to at least a dozen patients.
But for Mohammad, she doesn’t want to stop there: “I really want more patients.”
As for Shifa Clinic’s CEO, he witnessed something he will never forget. An elderly patient was not taking medicine properly, and her diabetes and blood sugar were out of control: “Through the care that the clinic provided, where we saw a change in that patient’s outlook,” Jay Al-Hashimi told us. “Seeing that person blossom into a more healthful version of herself was magnetic.”
Shifa Care Clinic provides services the second Saturday of every month. In the “even” months like June and August, treatment is at University Hospital, but on “odd” months, patients should go to the First Islamic Center in Augusta. CLICK HERE for more information.
