HEN ROGER TALKS ABOUT Virginia, it still brings tears to his eyes.

They were married 40 years, but as breast cancer ravaged her body, he was faced with what seemed an imminent and unbearable loss.

The Fergusons came to Community Health Care of the Palouse simply seeking help with Virginia's severe pain and chemotherapy side effects. But after meeting clinic doctor John Torquato, they quickly realized something was very different.

On their first visit, he listened--for a full 45 minutes. On the second, he asked if he could pray with the couple. By the third, he had recognized that beyond Virginia's physical needs, the couple desperately needed support in their time of crisis, and Torquato invited them to join his small prayer and fellowship "cell" group.

Though raised Methodist, Roger hadn't opened a Bible or prayed in years. "I memorized a lot of verses and sang in the choir, but the feeling wasn't there anymore," he admits. He knew nothing of Seventh-day Adventists, but agreed to attend for the sake of his ailing wife. "I wasn't a religious person, but I figured I could fake it if I needed to."

For the next three years the "cell" offered continual encouragement to the Fergusons through their difficult journey. Each Tuesday night the group ate together, shared together, and prayed together. At first, Roger and Virginia were cautious spectators, but over time they became active participants. District pastor Douglas Venn was there the night Virginia prayed aloud for the first time. "It was a heart unfolding to God, crying out in pain and sorrow, but also joy and hope," he recalls. "I felt like I was on holy ground."

From a doctor's compassion in that clinic exam room to their spiritual reawakening in a supportive community of new friends, the Fergusons' story is just one illustration of how an innovative medical practice and an energetic church plant have combined to heal bodies and win souls for Christ. Through Community Health Care of the Palouse, God's blueprint for medical ministry is proving to be a journey worth taking.

A Physician's Dream
Community Health Care of the Palouse (CHCP) was a natural outgrowth of Dr. Robert Spady's philosophy that medicine should be a ministry, and that patients should be treated as whole people--physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Early in his life, as an aspiring teenage athlete, Spady had discovered the critical roles that lifestyle, disease prevention, and spirituality play in overall wellness, and they soon became personal passions. More than any other influence, his perspective was shaped by a book he found in his home library-Ellen White's Counsels on Diets and Foods. "I learned that if I put those health principles into practice, I could jump higher and play basketball better," he recalls. "That realization was such a gift to me that I've always wanted to share it."

Just how to do that was a difficult question, so through college and medical school at Loma Linda University, the dream lingered in the back of his mind. But as a young doctor considering his career and future, Spady took to heart White's counsel in which she wrote of a physician's unique opportunity for outreach.

When he graduated from medical school, Spady began his career as a young physician in a traditional practice, but always looked for ways to integrate a spiritual approach into his practice. Over time, he continued to explore methods of doing this better.

He also continued to look to the Bible and to the writings of Ellen White for guidance about his medical work. One statement from the Spirit of Prophecy in particular impressed him, as it described the importance of working closely with the church: "Never should a sanitarium be established as an enterprise independent of the church. Our physicians are to unite with the work of the ministers of the gospel."1

When a new church plant started in Pullman, Washington, his idea for a church-clinic partnership took a giant step forward.

"It was really a convergence of several factors," says Spady. "Our new church was eager to find ways to reach out to the community. Our pastor was open to the idea of working together. The time was right for us to create a partnership where we could really do more for our patients than any of us could do alone."

Dr. Spady and Pastor Venn marshaled their forces and approached the Upper Columbia Conference with the idea. Conference leaders quickly expressed support, and the newly planted church committed to be part of the project. In the spring of 2000 the bold experiment finally began in Pullman, and in nearby Moscow, Idaho.

The mission was simple, and audacious: to create from scratch a revolutionary health-care/church partnership model that would be replicable on a national scale, one that brought to life Ellen White's vision of a wholistic and evangelistic medical outreach.

It was an enormous challenge--and opportunity. "The concept was an integration of Adventist health principles with the life of a local church, and that's exactly what Ellen White described," says Max C. Torkelsen II, UCC president. "I just felt that if we weren't willing to take some risks and make this work, we weren't fulfilling our mission."

"For too long, we've separated physical health from spiritual health," Spady says. "When we combine them, it changes the lives of our patients and revitalizes our churches with a new kind of ministry and service. And while this is a journey we're only beginning, it's definitely one worth taking."

The Model as Health Care
When patients step through the door of a Community Health Care clinic for the first time, they may not notice an immediate difference. It's a doctor's office, after all, with a waiting room, chairs, and the typical things you'd expect to find in a clinic. But it soon becomes clear that this is a place where the traditional health-care model is turned upside down.

The unique CHCP approach is shaped by five important principles:

A focus on disease prevention. Although CHCP offers patients the best of what modern medicine has to offer with a full arsenal of internal medicine and family practice services, its distinction is the emphasis on prevention. Beyond addressing immediate health concerns, clinic doctors view themselves as coaches who help patients accomplish wellness objectives they set for themselves.

A commitment to whole-person care that integrates spirituality. As Seventh-day Adventists have always believed, and modern medical research continues to prove, good health involves more than the physical. It requires balance that includes the social, mental, emotional, and spiritual spheres, and that's a concept that dominates the CHCP approach. In a nonthreatening way, patients are exposed, perhaps for the first time, to this crucial truth. As an example, patients are made aware, and almost always appreciate, that physicians and staff start each day praying for every patient by name.

A respect for every patient's choices. Physicians at the clinic are committed to spending whatever time is needed to help patients physically and spiritually. "Our goal is to give our patients the information they need to make decisions about their own health," says Spady. "But we leave the final decision to them."

Commitment to science and revelation. These principles have come about because of Adventist commitment to what has been learned from both science and divine revelation. While some ministries act dismissively toward science in the contemporary church, Spady emphasizes the clinic's paramount respect for solid medical science.

A belief that a church-clinic partnership is the most effective model for healing. Accomplishing the task of whole-person care and disease prevention can best take place when the pastor and physician work closely together, and when the clinic and church work closely together. In the case of CHCP, the local church chooses the clinic board. Constituency meetings are held four times a year to report back to the church on progress. To achieve this partnership, clinic staff involves the local congregation in different forms of outreach. The local pastor meets with the clinic team periodically, and is a member of the board. "We are tied together in our corporate structure, financially and in our mission and values," says Spady. "The clinic itself is owned by the conference."

While Spady recognizes that there are other viable models, he believes that conference ownership of the clinic was important to creating a strong partnership, another idea he drew from his study of Ellen White's counsels about medical ministry.2

These five core values help to create a different experience for clinic patients who have previously experienced frustrations with medical care that has frequently become impersonal and fast-paced. "I believe everyone deserves this kind of care," says Dr. Spady. "Sometimes the root of the problem isn't something that can be corrected by a pill or a surgery. Sometimes it takes a doctor who listens, and cares enough to treat the whole person."

The Model as Soul Care
The spiritual side of the Community Health Care ministry starts subtly, with quiet exchanges between patients and doctors in the course of medical care. "I don't do any preaching," says Spady of his daily interactions. "I just tell the story of what God has done for me and let my patients know there's a purpose in life." Sometimes, as with the Fergusons, such exchanges lead to study group involvement, or even church attendance.

A Life-altering Question Charts a New Course for a Professor The University of Idaho professor was running out of options. He came to Community Health Care after suffering four heart attacks and undergoing quadruple bypass surgery--and after finally firing his other doctors. "I just decided there had to be something missing," he recalls. "I'd done the exercise, followed the diet, and taken the medications, but it was all to no avail." During the get-acquainted session on his first visit to the clinic, Dr. Robert Spady said something that would change the professor's life. "He asked me how my spirituality was," he recalls, "and suggested a course of treatment that addressed my needs as a whole person." Though the professor had never considered his spiritual needs and was reluctant at first to make changes, he finally joined a study group and tried a vegetarian diet. "My health today is better than it has been in years," the professor reports. "Combining spirituality with excellent medical care makes sense, and it feels good to have other people praying for your success." "We're not here to force people into a religious mold, but to help direct our patients to the core issues that relate to health," says Spady. "And this is a great example of someone who saw incredible results."

That's where the church/clinic partnership becomes visible, and both Spady and Venn agree that the energy and dedication of local church members have been essential to the success of Community Health Care. "It was from the nest of the church plant that the dream was realized," says Venn, "and the benefit has been mutual." He praises God for the impact the clinics have had on the new church.