Annette John-Hall: Ministering to soul and body

When I heard that Einstein at Enon, a walk-in health clinic, had recently opened at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, my first thought was, "Isn't one there already?"

After all, Enon, one of about 10 mega-churches in Philadelphia, has every service imaginable. It has a magnificent, 96,000-square-foot edifice sitting on 34 acres along West Cheltenham Avenue to serve a membership of almost 14,000. Boasting a 5,600-seat sanctuary, a 1,500-seat activities center, and a basketball court to rival the one at the Wachovia Center.

Heck, Enon is more than a mega-church. It's a mini-city.

But what is it the Bible says? To whom much is given, much is required.

"We have to ask ourselves, 'What can we do with this wonderful building?' '' says the Rev. Alyn E. Waller, Enon's senior pastor. "It has to be put to good use. We have to live out the vision God has given to us."

Well, now, with the addition of Einstein at Enon, the church is a spiritual community - with health care.

Sure, the church had traditional hospital ministries and hosted its own health fairs in conjunction with Einstein, but the installation of a clinic took the church's health-care commitment to the next level.

It was a natural next step, says Waller, who says the center embodies Enon's holistic approach of "body, soul and spirit."

And while Enon officials stop short of saying that the Einstein at Enon clinic is the first of its kind to be housed in a church, "We aren't aware of any others," says Lu Ann Trainer, vice president of physician services at Albert Einstein Health Care Network.

The clinic, which offers services under the care of family physician Denina Helm and certified nurse practitioner Angela Stewart, is open Tuesday evenings and Saturday afternoons, times when many primary-care offices are closed.

While Einstein at Enon welcomes drop-ins, it's not a free clinic. It accepts most insurance, but "if you don't have insurance, we can work something out," Stewart says. "We never turn anybody away."

It's no surprise that church attendance has increased since the recession hit. Folks of faith are praying for a break.

The weak economy, coupled with job losses, slashed state budgets, and constraints on medical-services providers, means getting access to health care has never been tougher. Some reports say that 1,140 Pennsylvanians are losing their health coverage every week. And by the end of 2010, the number of Americans without coverage is expected to climb by 6.9 million more.

All of which puts even more of a strain on the system. People wind up in the emergency room for easily treatable conditions. Or they cancel appointments with their primary-care doctors because they can't afford their co-pays anymore.

"There are people who have full-time jobs and can't afford health care. It shouldn't have to be that way," Stewart says. "Now we have the clinic, which should make people realize they can come here to get what they need."

The staff is equipped to treat and prescribe medication for easily treatable ailments such as colds, flus, and bug bites, as well as diseases that particularly plague African Americans, like diabetes and high blood pressure. And Stewart can make referrals for more serious conditions.

The space, inside the church's Family Life Center, is clean and welcoming, complete with a private examination room. Soft gospel music plays in the background.

At Enon, there's no need to pretend who the ultimate healer is.

"I don't think that spirituality and medicine are mutually exclusive," Waller says. "The same way that God gifted me to be a preacher, he gifted a doctor to bring about his purpose of healing. Surgery is important, but you wouldn't want me to do the surgery. You'd want me to pray for the surgeon.

"It all works together."