CCHFtalk

Rev. Dr. Christopher Dodd of Chicago, IL had the opening plenary session of the 2025 CCHF Conference . This plenary session was recorder on Thursday April 10th during the 2025 CCHF Conference in the Cincinnati area. Rev. Dr. Christopher Dodd serves as the Lead Pastor of New Community Church in Dolton, Illinois, where he has been instrumental in fostering community partnerships and inspiring growth...

We can trace the beginnings of the modern movement of opening Christian clinics that integrate faith and medical care to serve those experiencing poverty back to five or six clinics that started in the mid to late 1970s. Bill Morehouse was one of those pioneers who started His Branches Community Health Center , a clinic that would serve his vulnerable neighbors in Rochester, New York, and do it in...

CCHF CEO, Dr. Rick Donlon, talks with 2025 CCHF Conference Plenary speaker, Dr. Grant Scarborough in this new episode of CCHFTalk . Dr. Grant Scarborough currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer Mercy Med of Columbus . A native of Columbus, Dr. Scarborough graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in Biology. Immediately following graduation, he spent two years on staff with Yo...

CCHF CEO, Dr. Rick Donlon, talks with 2025 CCHF Conference Plenary speaker, Rev. Dr. Christopher Dodd in this new episode of CCHFTalk. Rev. Dr. Christopher Dodd serves as the Lead Pastor of New Community Church in Dolton, Illinois, where he has been instrumental in fostering community partnerships and inspiring growth since 2013. A native Chicagoan, Rev. Dodd completed his Bachelor's degree at Nor...

CCHF CEO, Dr. Rick Donlon talks with Dr. Esther Kim about her work at Ethne Health and about her plenary at the upcoming 2025 CCHF Conference .  Esther, originally from Malaysia, spent much of her school years in Texas. After a transformative experience at Summer Medical Institute (SMI) in Harlingen, TX, and a student rotation at Christ Community Health Services in Memphis, TN, she pursued a resid...

Legacy Series | Ron & Carolyn Klaus Carolyn and Ron Klaus are the founders of Esperanza Health Center in north Philadelphia. They have a remarkable story of living among people in communities that most people avoid, being changed by their experiences in the community, and stepping into needs that they would never have seen had they not been obedient to God and followed him into unlikely places. Th...

Strategic Partnerships Series | Alyssa Vasquez Alyssa Vasquez serves as the president and CEO of Cultured Enuf , a consulting firm dedicated to enhancing Organizational Culture alignment. Cultured Enuf, born from a blend of personal experiences, research, and a deep understanding of cultural significance in the workplace.   The team at Cultured Enuf has conducted over 100 organizational assessment...

Learning Series | Chanté Calais-Morgan For Such a Time as This: Transforming our Lived Experiences Into Relatable and Compassionate Patient Care. There has been a more recent emphasis on the effects of ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and application of Trauma Informed Care as it relates to the patient populations that we serve. However, there have not been many studies on how doctors' persona...

If you want a Christ centered organization, it's all about the people you hire. For 4 decades, Lawndale Christian Health Center has been a model for many of the health ministries across CCHF. Dr. Wayne Detmer, the chief clinical officer of operations has been a key player in hiring the right people for their medical team. A team that's kept Lawndale on mission and made it a great place for them to...

Legacy Series | Jerry Stromberg I count as one of the greatest privileges in my life to have followed Jerry Stromberg and been mentored by him in the early days of my time at CCHF. Jerry is still one of the most beloved members of the CCHF community and one of the most brilliant. His incredible career includes academia, research, consulting. He's been the administrator for several health centers a...

Learning Series: Edson Patrice Edson Patrice, M. Div., is a former Nurse/EMT-B from the United States Army Reserve and currently serves as Chaplain at Sac Health in San Bernardino, CA. He served as a district pastor for the Georgia-Cumberland Conference in Atlanta Georgia from 2013-2022. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Religion and a Master of Divinity from Andrews University in Berrien Springs,...

Learning Series: Brittany Wilson Many practitioners and health professionals face conversations with patients about weight loss and their health. These conversations are both difficult for the practitioner and the patient, and leave the patient feeling discouraged, frustrated, and overwhelmed with how to start improving their health by changing their weight. But what if weight loss is not the appr...

Strategic Partnerships Series | Rick Allen of MedSend Rick Allen, CEO of MedSend , shares the vision and mission behind MedSend's work in this insightful interview with former CCHF CEO, Steve Noblett. MedSend's mission is to reach the world with compassionate care and the love of Christ by empowering dedicated, Christ-following healthcare professionals to serve the most underserved regions globall...

Learning Series: Larry Rector & Geogy Thomas Some say "Ideas are a Dime a Dozen. People that Implement them are Priceless." Evaluating each idea that solves a problem or opens the door towards an opportunity is difficult. In this episode, Larry Rector (CEO of Dayspring Health ) and Dr. Geogy Thomas (CMO of Dayspring Health) provide a successful framework that simplifies the evaluation process of a...

Strategic Partnerships Series: Lorenzo A. Watson This conversation took place at the 2024 CCHF Conference . Lorenzo A. Watson is the CEO and President of Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) . Lorenzo sat down with Steve Noblett, the former CEO of Christian Community Health Fellowship (CCHF) to talk about the future of CCDA, the national CCDA Conference, and ways CCHF members can bec...

Learning Series: Dr. Wayne Detmer and Martha Carlough Dr. Detmer serves as the Chief Clinical Officer of Operations at Lawndale Christian Health Center in Chicago, Illinois. He completed undergraduate training at Yale University and medical school at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. Dr. Detmer is board certified in family medicine and licensed in the State of Illinois. He and...

Learning Series: Dr. Rick Donlon & Susan Post Dr. Rick Donlon ( CCHF 's new CEO) and Susan Post ( Esperanza Health Center 's CEO) share how their personal stories have allowed them to be more compassionate and relatable to their patients and organizations; even those with different lived experiences. They discuss practical strategies and Biblical examples related to turning our tests into testimon...

Learning Series: Alyssa Vasquez & Steve Noblett Alyssa Vasquez serves as the president and CEO of  Cultured Enuf , a consulting firm dedicated to enhancing Organizational Culture alignment. Cultured Enuf, born from a blend of personal experiences, research, and a deep understanding of cultural significance in the workplace. The team at Cultured Enuf has conducted over 100 organizational assessment...

David Caes was one of the early "dreamers" who saw that CCHF could make a lasting impact on healthcare, within neglected communities and through the church. David used his creative gifts and relational personality to build a network and to help practitioners share their experiences and insights with one another. That has been the hallmark of CCHF ever since. He was editor and a contributing writer...

Strategic Partnerships Series: Bobby Watts Bobby Watts, MPH, MS, CPH, Bobby currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of National Health Care for the Homeless Council based in Nashville, Tennessee. He has thirty years of experience in direct service, management, development, and implementation of health, social service, shelter, and policy and advocacy programs with and for mentally ill, HIV-pos...

Learning Series: Wayne Gordon  Wayne Gordon is an author, pastor, and teacher. Wayne is the founder of Lawndale Christian Community Church on the west-side of Chicago. In over 41 years of ministry "Coach," as he is affectionately known, has played a key role in numerous community development initiatives. He is one of the founders of the Lawndale Christian Health Center , founding president of the...

  Learning Series: Rev. Dr. Jonathan Brooks  Rev. Dr. Jonathan Brooks is the lead pastor at Lawndale Christian Community Church located on the west-side of Chicago. He is affectionately known as "Pastah J". He is also the author of the popular book " Church Forsaken ". He is a graduate of Northern Theological Seminary (MDiv) and recently obtained his Doctorate of Ministry in Christian Community De...

Legacy Series: Art Jones Host: Steve Noblett The story of Lawndale began with a group of high school students, a football coach leading a bible study, and a 4th year medical student. That football coach was Wayne Gordon. And that medical student was Art Jones. Art went on to help found Lawndale Christian Health Center , which started out as a clinic that charged just $5 a visit and that worked out...

Strategic Partnerships Series: Dr. Jeanne L. Allert Dr. Jeanne L. Allert, PhD, founded The Samaritan Women in 2007, one of the first restorative care programs for trafficking survivors in the United States. After 13 years of direct service, she created the Institute for Shelter Care , a national initiative that conducts industry research, addresses gaps in service and seeks to improve the quality...

Leadership Series: Michael Aitcheson Michael Aitcheson is the planter and senior pastor of Christ United Fellowship in Orlando, Florida. He is a council member of the Gospel Coalition ; hosts a podcast called "As In Heaven" ; and has served for 10 years on the Board of  Grace Medical Home , a CCHF flagship clinic in Orlando. We were blessed to have Mike share as the opening plenary speaker for the...