Medicine and Faith

On our website, Crossroad’s mission reads: “Our mission is to give honor to Jesus Christ by providing accessible, comprehensive health care in partnership with our patients and community leading to healthy, changed lives.” Despite being raised in a Christian home and always wanting to be involved in medicine, it was not until becoming an intern at Crossroad Health Center that I saw the tangible effects of faith and medicine together.

While shadowing Dr. Roberts in the fall, I was able to meet a patient who had a terminally ill daughter at home. The family had decided to forego any other extreme measures and had been relying on prayer to heal their daughter. According to him, the prayer was working. It was extremely touching to hear this man talk about his child and the healing that the family was experiencing. He than began to talk about his love for Crossroad. He said, “without Crossroad, it would be disastrous.” The patient explained how much the health center means to the community and how without it, the community members would be entirely lost. He went on to mention the sense of peace he felt every time he walked through the doors on East Liberty Street.

This experience, in addition to every other interaction of which I have been a part or witnessed, has made me truly appreciate what Crossroad does—so much so that I even did a final project on the health center last fall. I was able to share all the inspiring aspects of Crossroad with a class full of students who hope to follow Crossroad’s example and become active citizens in the community.

When I joined the Volunteer Intern Program, I was a pre-medicine student hoping to become a surgeon or emergency physician. Now, after eight months of interning, I hope to be a physician assistant, possibly focused in family practice. Witnessing the relationships that the providers have built with their patients is something I hope to experience. Especially in this time of turbulence in the medical field, primary care is so important. If it was not for the opportunity I have had here at Crossroad, I do not know that I would have realized the importance of that primary care provider and patient relationship strengthened by faith and community in the healing process.

- Shannon Reilly