By Christopher M. Riggs
SEPTEMBER, 2010 - Medicine and the clientele the Guadalupe Clinic has been serving has changed in the last 25 years. And with federally-mandated health insurance on the horizon, more changes may be in store.
But Marlene Dreiling is focusing on the next phone call.
Dreiling, executive director of the diocesan ministry, said the clinic opened in 1985 to serve children.
“Through the years, with the changes in Medicaid and HealthWave rules, we were able to get many of the children insured over the years through the federal and state governments,” she said. “So, consequently, what started out as a children’s clinic has now become an adult clinic – and we only serve the uninsured, so the majority of our patients are between the ages of 19 and 64.”
Anyone older is eligible for Medicare. Anyone younger is eligible for Medicaid.
Nonetheless, the clinic does see a few children, Dreiling said.

“If they come in with a family and they need to be seen, we’ll see them. The first thing we do is we send them to the SRS social worker that’s stationed here at the clinic and we ask them to help them sign up for Medicaid or HealthWave services.”
The clinic has a good staff, she said, but the heart of the clinic are its 250 volunteers.
“We have volunteer physicians, specialists, we have volunteer nurses, respiratory therapy, we have what we call our Helping Hand People, we have medical assistants, and we have generic volunteers who come in and help us when we need help, whether it’s putting files together or assisting a physician to provide services to the patient,” Dreiling said.
The economic downturn is reflected in the number of clients seeking medical help, she said. In 2009 there was a 41 percent increase over 2008 in numbers seeking help.
“We provided 11,255 visits in 2009 to the uninsured in our community,” she said, adding that there has been an additional increase in the last few months.
“With the last round of unemployment, those people were no longer eligible to receive their COBRA,” she said. “Consequently the phone’s been ringing and they’ve been walking in the door seeking help.”
COBRA provides a temporary extension of company health care.
Dreiling isn’t guessing about the next 25 years.
“With the changes in health care that are supposed to come in 2014, where everybody is supposed to get health care – we all know that that is not realistic – it will take time over the years to get to that point,” she said. “I can’t dwell on how that’s going to impact Guadalupe Clinic in 2014, our biggest concern now at Guadalupe Clinic is seeing the patients that need to be seen today and tomorrow.”
She thanked everyone who has assisted during the last quarter century.
“To all of the people who have helped us in the 25 years of providing care to thousands of people, from the bottom of our hearts we’re thankful,” she said. “You’ve changed many lives and not a lot of people know except the patients and the staff how many lives have been changed.”

A brief interview with Marlene Dreiling can be viewed here.

New medical help?
A pre-screening is done over the phone by calling (316) 264-8974. The clinic asks patients to make appointments so that they can be paired with the volunteer physicians and physician assistants. Patients can usually be seen within one to two days.
Want to help or donate?
Those who wish to volunteer for the clinic or make a donation may call (316) 264-8974 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or mail at 940 S. St. Francis, Wichita, KS 67211.