Knoxville — For several years, the wooden house next to West Lonsdale Baptist Church stood without purpose.
"We searched for years for a purpose for it and a use for it and never came up with why we have the property," explained teaching pastor Todd Halliburton.
Halliburton says after looking at the greatest needs of the people in the surrounding neighborhood, it became apparent what they needed to do with the property.
"There’s a high rate of uninsured people in our community. A lot of that has to do with a high unemployment rate, income levels, and job rate. What we do is try to look at the needs of our community and find a way to partner with others to meet those needs," Halliburton explained. "Through some connections and partnerships, we met up with a mobile medical clinic that was looking for a permanent home, and we just immediately knew that was our match."
They made plans to turn the house into a medical clinic that would offer its services for free to patients in need.
"People can just come in, and if they're sick or hurting, Dr. Rankin will spend a large amount of time with them, and give them a plan for a follow-up. It'll be just like a regular doctor's office. The caveat is that it's for people who don't have any medical insurance," Halliburton said.
After receiving the approval they needed from the city last week, Halliburton says they'll start major renovation work in a couple of days.
He hopes they'll be open for business in the fall, starting with two days a week and eventually progressing to five.