Clinic Won't Change Methadone Program
The Summit Medical Center is no longer on Summit Street it's moved around the corner to an old 13-room verted house at 704 Spring Street. But the unusual medical facility, started three years ago by Dr. Ed Pierce, former Ann Arbor city councilman and candidate for mayor, is a going, growing concern, and attracting national attention because of the unique services it performs, as well as by the way it was started and expanded. Pierce, who gave up a private medical practice to minister to the poor and those who, for one reason or another would not or could not obtain medical service through the normal channels, is not the first of the "new breed" of professional men to disavow personal gain for service to hls' fellow man. Increasingly in the past few years a growing number of highly-trained and sociallyconscious citizens have taken up the standard of obligation to a higher ideal. It is evident in the volunteers of the Peace Corps, VISTA, and the young lawyers who work in Legal Aid or environmental and consumer protection groups. The Summit Medical Center is administered by a Board of Directors of Ann Arbor citizens. Pierce and his partner, Dr. Jerry Walden, who joined him after the clinic was founded, are paid by the corporation, as are the other clinic assistants and the general operating budget of the center. Funds come from patients' fees and community contributions raised by the board of directors. Currently two Ann Arbor churches, St. Andrews Episcopal and Memorial Christian, are acting as receptors for such donations, which are then disbursed to the board. This was done so that contributions would b e taxdeductible, but now that the center itself has received certification as a tax-exempt organization by the Internal Revenue Service, the board I may accept donations directly from citizens or organizations. With the move into the new quarters, the Model Cities Program also.began to assist in the added expense of the larger office. A special grant aids i n defraying office expenses by renting the top floor of the center and providing dental service in those quarters. Also planned for this portion of the center will beoutreach n u r s i n g services, psychological counseling, and other social services for model cities area patients. In addition they are seeking two additional doctors for the center, and will pay a portion of the salary for them. The Pierce-Walden Clinie (Summit Medical Center) is not liraited to service from the Model Cities area, but most of the patients dó come from that section of the city. Open during the day from 9-6, and four evenings a week from 7:30-10 (also on Saturday 10-3), the medical center is operating at full capacity now, and the need for additional doctors is evident. Pierce and Walden, though, r e m a i n enthusiastic, and totally committed to the path they have taken. "I have a completely different c 1 i e ntele," said Ed Pierce, "but it's a lot more challenging."