The Good Samaritan Medical Mission
The Good Samaritan Medical Mission is our free clinic. We offer weekly clinics, medications, home visits, and timely follow-ups. When specialized care is required, we organize visits with off-island physicians, accompany patients on appointments and surgeries, negotiate fee reductions, and pay the charges when possible.
Mission Staff
The Good Sam Medical Mission was founded in 2006 when Chip and Rhome Nuttall moved to Pilar and used their life savings to establish the practice in their home. Chip has almost forty years of experience as a Physician’s Assistant, beginning with his time as a green beret medic. He has worked in family medicine, rehab medicine, internal medicine, and orthopedic surgery. Rhome grew up on Ponson Island but worked as a surgical scrub in the States, where she met Chip.
Mission Patients
Our patients live a subsistence lifestyle and cannot afford to pay for medical care. For many patients, the Good Samaritan Medical Mission is the first place that they have ever received such care. In addition to the frequently encountered common colds, coughs, conjunctivitis, bronchitis, and lacerations, one of the most common ailments is Dengue fever. The cases of Dengue fever have increased by more than 85% in the last five years. We also see patients with chicken pox, kidney problems, diabetes, tuberculosis, cancer, high blood pressures, arthritis, and burns. Some patients have thyroid problems, malaria, and cancer in all stages. The tooth decay epidemic on the island leads to problems with heart attacks and strokes.
Mission Finances
In the beginning, Chip and Rhome were able to run the mission through their savings and assistance from friends at Hilltop Community Church in Carson City, Nevada. As the patient load and complexity of care increased, however, this revenue stream was no longer enough. The Nuttalls had to return to the US occasionally to raise funds, interrupting the mission of their clinic. Since partnering with Virginia teen Oliver Dahl to establish the Eastern Visayas Association for Community Enhancement and EVACE International, however, fundraising concerns have been replaced by program expansion.
Mission Goals
The primary goal of the mission is to help patients and their families recover and return to their schools, fields, or fishing boats. By restoring an individual's ability to earn a living and provide for loved ones, we help restore that person's dignity as well.
Another continuing goal of the mission is health education. We teach patients about basic health, hygiene, nutrition, pre-natal, and dental care. We also warn patients against counterfeit drugs and superstitious remedies that are ineffective or even harmful.
In order to streamline care and patient registration, we are implementing telemedicine capabilities. This November, we introduced a digital otoscope and EKG, along with an online patient registry system.