The Good Faith Clinic was founded in 1995 to provide medical services to uninsured citizens originally in McMinn, Meigs, Monroe, and Rhea Counties. However, GFC roots go back several years prior to 1995.
In 1983, a young student became an EMT and volunteered for the Carter County Rescue Squad while attending East Tennessee State Medical School. As an EMT, David Byrd performed ambulance work, rescues, recoveries, and vehicle extractions. In one year alone, he worked over 1000 ambulance calls. The experience gave him a sense of mission and planted the desire to help people in desperate need of medical care. This was the first stone in the Good Faith Clinic foundation.
Dr. Byrd came to Athens Community Hospital in the late 1980s to work in the Emergency Room, while his wife, Dr. Jenny Byrd, served in the Primary Care Center in Decatur. While working the ER, the second stone was laid in the Good Faith Clinic foundation – so many people had no insurance and the ER was the only place to turn to. There had to be a better way to care for the uninsured public.
The third stone jump-started the founding process. A change in financial circumstances for Dr. Byrd enabled him to investigate what it would take to start a free clinic for his community. He studied two free clinics in the region, one, The Interfaith Health Center, in Knoxville and the other in Cleveland, on how to operate and offer free healthcare to uninsured people. With this knowledge under his belt, Dr. Byrd turned to Carter Runyan, CPA, then Chief Financial Officer at Athens Community Hospital, to help him pull it off. It is interesting to note, that Dr. Byrd credits Carter and his mother, the late Carolyn Runyan, County Director/ Office Manager for the McMinn County Health Department, as the major reasons he was able to turn a big dream into reality. Carter Runyan, however, puts the credit in Dr. Byrd’s court. “David Byrd has an innate calling to give back to the community. He felt the financial gain he received had bless- ed him to be able to have the opportunity to make a difference.
Carter continued, “ The clinic was not the only recipient of Dr. Byrd’s blessings. When sons, Todd Marion and Will Byrd, played high school sports, he was always on hand when medical assistance was needed, which he continued to do for several years. He is also part of a team that provides free annual athlete physicals for students in McMinn and Meigs Counties, which he continues to do to this day. When hurricane Katrina decimated New Orleans and surrounding areas, Dr. Byrd and Dr. Clyde Martin, went with Remote Area Medical, along with several healthcare professionals from Athens Regional Medical Center, and were some ofthe first to arrive to offer medical assistance. David Byrd is a man with a huge heart.”
In 1995, with the help and support of Carolyn Runyan, the Good Faith Clinic opened its doors in the McMinn County Health Department. The clinic offered more than most free clinics in that it provided pharmaceutical assistance, organized by the late Pharmacist, Joe Jaquish, lab work, and x-rays. Since the clinic’s inception, the hospital – then Athens Community Hospital, now Starr Regional Medical Center – has provided support services for the clinic. Good Faith Clinic is funded by donations from the community, churches, industries, organizations, and individuals. Its valuable service to the peo- ple of this community was recognized when it became a United Way Partner Agency.
The GFC has been located at the Health De- partment, Tennessee Wesleyan College,
and Christ Community Church. In 2008, it relocated to 18 South Congress Parkway in a new custom-made building purchased with
a grant from United Way. For several years, Athens Federal Bank Foundation has provided grants to support annual health fairs that have served hundreds of people through the years.
Dr. Byrd credits the success of the clinic to the dedication of its volunteers, many of whom have been with the clinic for years. “It’s not about me. It is about God’s blessing to receive a mission and work toward it. The volunteers are the backbone of the success of this mission.” When asked about the future of Good Faith Clinic, Dr. Byrd replied, “it has lasted so long because people still don’t have insurance. It will continue because the need is still there.”
