Bread of Healing Clinic Seeks to Understand Social Determinants of Health for Patients

Bread of Healing has been working on social determinants of health among our patients for several years, seeking to answer a number of important questions:

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What impact does insecurity in housing or food have on health?  

How does receiving grant dollars for heating costs reduce stress in a patient’s household?  

Can we reduce no-show rates of our patients if we provide Uber or Lyft rides to the clinic?  

We have learned much, but still have work to do. By screening all of our patients, we have learned that 4% of patients have health insurance, but cannot navigate the system to access health care. 60% of patients identify a social or medical need that they are motivated to work on.  As many as 20% of patients are eligible for some kind of insurance and our social work services staff assisted those patients in enrolling.  

Click here for more information about our work in this area and the related costs.

Please Join Us to Celebrate the Retirement of Clinic Co-Founder Rick Cesar!

Please join us to Toast and Roast Rick Cesar

Where: Cross Lutheran Church, 1821 N. 16th Street, Milwaukee, WI 53205

When: Sunday, November 17, 2019, 12pm - 3pm

Schedule of events:

∗ 9:30am-11:30am—Cross Church recognizes Rick at their service

∗ 12:00pm—Gathering in Cross basement for a light lunch

∗ 1:00pm—Acknowledgements and presentations begin

∗ 2:00pm—Dessert served

What we need from you:

Please share any funny stories, experiences and appreciation for Rick and his 30 years of service to Aurora Healthcare and Bread of Healing Clinic.

If you wish to make a donation to Rick’s retirement celebration please send your contribution to Bread of Healing Clinic at Cross Lutheran Church and include in your note “Rick’s Retirement.”

Greater Milwaukee Free Clinic Closes After 24 Years

At its start, the Bread of Healing Clinic found great generosity and an excellent model in another Milwaukee-area free clinic: the Greater Milwaukee Free Clinic. As Rick Cesar noted upon hearing of their closing, “They are wonderful people and were doing a free clinic long before us. We stood on their shoulders as Barb and I looked for examples of how to be a free clinic.”

The Bread of Healing Clinic staff and volunteers wish only the best for Kathy Schneider, who founded and managed the clinic, and her husband, George Schneider, who staffed the clinic with other volunteer physicians.

Please follow this link to learn more about the closing of the Greater Milwaukee Free Clinic.

Bread of Healing Clinic Is Recipient of Prevent Blindness Wisconsin’s Adult Healthy Vision Award

The Bread of Healing Clinic team at the Cross Lutheran Church location.

The Bread of Healing Clinic team at the Cross Lutheran Church location.

In recognition of the Bread of Healing Clinic’s contributions toward vision health, Prevent Blindness Wisconsin has recognized the Clinic with its Adult Healthy Vision Award. This award recognizes an Adult Program Partner who makes vision health for at-risk adults a priority.

The Bread of Healing Clinic has partnered with Prevent Blindness Wisconsin to help improve at-risk adults’ access to vision care through the Vision Care Voucher Program. This year, 57 low-income patients who are served by the Bread of Healing Clinic received a free voucher for an eye exam and glasses. The Bread of Healing Clinic goes above and beyond when helping their patients who qualify for Prevent Blindness Wisconsin’s voucher program access vision care, ensuring they have the resources and support needed to successfully navigate the vision healthcare system. Clinic social workers are dedicated to helping their patients through every step of the voucher process, from assisting with the application and gathering proof of income documents, to scheduling the appointment once approved. The Bread of Healing Clinic demonstrates the impact possible when a community partner is dedicated to making healthy vision a priority for the at-risk adults they serve.

The Bread of Healing Clinic is a Primary Care Medical Home for low income, uninsured individuals. Founded nineteen years ago, the clinic initially served adults with chronic medical conditions. Volunteers, working alongside a small group of paid staff, provide a wide range of services. The clinic has grown over the years and has both primary and specialty providers, as well as medical care coordination and social service navigation provided by the Resource Center team who serve about 2,000 clients annually.

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WTMJ Radio Weekend Host Mark Siegrist Interviews Rick Cesar about Bread of Healing Clinic

Helping to get out the good message for the Bread of Healing Clinic is WTMJ Radio Weekend Host Mark Siegrist. He interviewed our own Rick Cesar on the morning of Saturday, March 16, as part of Wisconsin's Weekend Morning News magazine. The station kindly shared a portion of that broadcast in the following audio file. The clinic thanks both Mark and Rick for their time and effort in helping people understand all that our clinic provides to the uninsured and underserved in our community.

Medical Society Milwaukee Hosts an Evening to Remember at the Wisconsin Club

Bread of Healing Clinic leadership came together on March 9, 2019 to celebrate Dr. Barbara Horner-Ibler’s recognition at the Medical Society of Milwaukee’s Annual Awards Dinner. Dr. Horner-Ibler received the Dr. Erastus B. Wolcott Distinguished Service Award, specifically for her care for the underserved. We are happy to see Dr. Horner-Ibler receive this honor and, while she accepts it on behalf of the clinic, she would tell you that her work and the people she serves are far more important than any award. This is why we love her!

Please click on the images below to view a brief photo gallery from the evening.