Genes of Mercy

SGR’s Jane Haverty Continues Family Tradition of Public Service

Since Saint Joseph’s Hospital opened its doors on Courtland Street in downtown Atlanta in 1880, the Haverty family has distinguished itself in its volunteer and philanthropic support of the institution. The hospital was founded by the Sisters of Mercy, whose mission it is to serve the poor and downtrodden. Rawson Haverty, Sr. embraced the ideals of the Sisters and served on the first board of directors of Saint Joseph’s Hospital in 1970. He later served as its chairman for many years, including during the period when the difficult decision was made to move the hospital from its original downtown location to the Northside suburbs.

Following in that tradition of community service, his daughter, Jane Haverty, began volunteering with Saint Joseph’s Hispanic Services in 1982, and became a member of the board of Saint Joseph’s Mercy Care Services when Saint Joseph’s Hispanic Services and Saint Joseph’s Mercy Mobile merged in the early 1990s. Since 2002, Jane has served as chair of the Mercy Care Services board. More recently, she has accepted appointment to the boards of Saint Joseph’s Health System and Saint Joseph’s Mercy Foundation. She is also a member of WINGS (Women Involved in New Growth for Saint Joseph’s), and in 2006, the 125th anniversary of the hospital, was co-chair of the WINGS ball, an annual fundraising event that benefits Mercy Care Services.

“Everything I know about the Mercy mission I learned from my father,” Jane recalls. “From the very beginning, it was clear to me that I had to be a part of it. Volunteering at Mercy Care Services is as natural as breathing. I guess it’s just in my genes.”

When asked why, for so many years, she has continued to volunteer her time and energies toward furthering the success of Mercy Care Services, Jane responds, “Why wouldn’t I? The Sisters of Mercy, the volunteers and the staff all work so hard to make a difference in the lives of people who have so little. Many of us live such privileged, blessed lives, while others of us live in nightmares — sick, poor, homeless, mentally ill. It’s our duty to help these people. They’re our brothers and sisters.”

Mercy Care Services

More than 120 years ago, the Sisters of Mercy brought their healing mission to downtown Atlanta, where they established the city’s first hospital, Saint Joseph’s Infirmary, which later became Saint Joseph’s Hospital of Atlanta. In the mid-1970s, the hospital relocated to the suburbs, but it did not abandon the “old neighborhood.” Several evenings a week, volunteer physicians, nurses and other staff brought their healing skills to Atlanta’s downtown homeless at soup kitchens and shelters by way of vans stocked with medical supplies, soap, towels and ointment. Though providers could offer an immediate, one-on-one medical response to the unmet needs of those individuals, this outreach effort lacked the financial strength and management capabilities to mobilize the broad, sustained response required by the magnitude of health issues encountered.

Thus in 1984, Saint Joseph’s Mercy Care Services was incorporated as a non-profit organization and applied for and received major funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Health Care for the Homeless Program. Today, Mercy Care Services, sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy and Saint Joseph’s Health System, is governed by a board of trustees consisting of medical and business volunteers and client consumers. With an operating budget of approximately $10 million, a staff of 121 and a volunteer corps of 112, it has grown from proud but humble beginnings to an organization that provides primary health care, education and social services that reach thousands of medically disenfranchised persons each year.

Two years after Mercy Care Services began its successful mobilization of health care to the streets, Hispanic Services was created at Saint Joseph’s Hospital to assist a wave of new Hispanic immigrants in navigating the complexities of the health care system. “I was asked to sit on the advisory board of Hispanic Services,” Jane explains. “Frankly, it was a learning experience for me. I listened a lot and learned a great deal about non-profits and community outreach. I was struck by the unbelievable compassion and selflessness of those involved with the venture. I remember when Hispanic Services merged with Mercy Care’s mobile clinic services and thought how much stronger it made both.”

Mercy Care Services’ unique method of preventive and primary health care delivery facilitates accessibility for homeless, low-income and transient populations. Monday through Friday it operates four clinics referred to as “fixed sites” at Mercy Clinics Downtown and North, Mercy Clinic at St. Luke’s, and Mercy Clinic at the Gateway 24/7 Service Center. Several other clinics are conducted in community-partner facilities where specific space is allocated to Mercy Care Services. A mobile medical coach provides services when interior space is unavailable at partner agencies. Services for these seven mobile clinics are offered on certain days and times of the week according to a published monthly schedule. All clinic services are rendered at little or no cost.

Says Jane, “What I’m most proud of is the many ways we reach people in need. We offer so much — medical care, dental care, mental health assessment and case management, education, outreach to street-bound homeless and HIV primary care, outreach and prevention. And it’s not just the services, but the people who deliver them. They so obviously care.”

Mercy Care’s ethnically diverse staff is made up of physicians, nurse practitioners, dentists, mental-health case managers, health educators and other professionals who are joined by volunteers in providing a comprehensive continuity of care for clients. These individuals reach out to the community, making personal connections with clients — connections that often are as healing as the medical services they provide.

Care for the Future

During 2006, the management and board of directors of Mercy Care developed a five-year strategic plan to guide the organization in its efforts to address the significant increase in demand for services over the past few years. Key strategies include expanded access to specialty and other health-related services; renovation of the downtown clinic and headquarters to increase capacity; and continuation of efforts to strengthen bonds with the community. To support this expansion, Saint Joseph’s Mercy Foundation, the fundraising arm for the hospital, and Mercy Care Services commenced a capital campaign in early 2007 with the hope of successful completion by year’s end.

Commenting on the expansion, Jane notes, “The need out there is not going away. It grows larger each day. I was just looking at Mercy Care statistics from 2006. We saw more than 8,900 clients in our medical and dental programs. These are new immigrants, transient or homeless persons, individuals infected with HIV, the working poor, and the underinsured and uninsured.

“Ninety-six percent of Mercy Care’s clients are uninsured. Eighty-nine percent are living below federal poverty guidelines. A bigger Mercy Care means expanded services and a bigger presence in the community. The expansion makes us more visible and gives us a stronger voice for those who can’t access basic health care.”

“With the future of Grady [Memorial Hospital] under a cloud right now, I can’t imagine what the homeless and poor would do without their services. Mercy Care won’t be able to handle it all and neither will any of the other area hospitals, but at least with expanded capacity Mercy Care can help.”

Jane intends to stay “on board” at Mercy Care Services for the long haul, and has recommitted herself to helping the community at large. “I’ve come to understand how little time we actually have here on earth, and reaching out to people who desperately need a helping hand is what really gives meaning to our lives. It makes me feel good to be able to give a little bit back in life. It’s an honor to have served Mercy Care Services this long.”

Author Toni Graney is Manager of Marketing and Communications for Saint Joseph’s Mercy Care Services, Inc.