News

Medical ministry will soon have Little Rock location

Divine Mercy Health Center fundraising for primary care clinic in SW Little Rock

Published: March 21, 2024      

By Katie Zakrzewski
Associate Editor

Lee and Lori Wilbur stand in the Divine Mercy Health Center building during construction and renovation. (Courtesy Lee and Lori Wilbur)

Lee and Lori Wilbur stand in the Divine Mercy Health Center building during construction and renovation. (Courtesy Lee and Lori Wilbur)

Lee and Lori Wilbur let their faith serve as their compass, guiding their medical careers when they co-founded Divine Mercy Health Center. 

That compass led them to Southwest Little Rock, where they hope to open a physical location for the Divine Mercy Health Center ministry in June. 

Lee, who practices emergency medicine, discovered a love for teaching others how to serve the vulnerable in their communities. He and his wife, a physical therapist, moved from Indiana to Arkansas in 2013 and are parishioners at Christ the King in Little Rock. 

The longer Lee and Lori worked in the medical field, the more their faith urged them to serve the vulnerable. 

“We saw the flaws in the system and that a lot of people were largely forgotten. That was the inspiration to serve those most in need,” Lee said. “And the more we followed our Catholic faith, the more confident we became that was our purpose.”

Divine Mercy Health Center was created as a faith-inspired nonprofit in 2018 to address the broader socio-economic factors that create inaccessibility to health care. Through various health and wellness programs and free mobile medical missions in the community, Divine Mercy Health Center is able to provide free lab tests, physician visits, health goals and fresh food to patients in low-income areas. 

“We identify the root causes that inhibit people from achieving their best health, and then we create solutions to overcome those barriers,” Wilbur said. “We realize that a lot of those are social determinant issues, meaning individuals or families that are in poverty, those that struggle with hunger, with transportation and housing. Our social work teams connect them throughout the community with resources that they need to achieve their best health.”

During the pandemic, the Wilburs decided to take a discipleship approach by serving patients in neighborhoods where they live and work. 

“We took our model to the people and decided to do mission outreach into the most needy areas of the city,” Lee said. “We looked at the various zip codes around the Little Rock area and found those that had the greatest health care needs. That is where we decided to start the mission.”

Since 2021, Divine Mercy Health Center has completed 13 missions, setting up free health clinics at St. Theresa and Our Lady of Good Counsel churches and the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock, serving in the most vulnerable areas even without a brick-and-mortar facility. 

The Wilburs are planning to expand their service into North Little Rock soon. 

The community outreach missions revealed a large population of vulnerable individuals who did not have access to primary care. This was the inspiration behind the decision to open a clinic designed to help those most in need.

“Our clinic is being built in a previously unfinished area within the Mosaic Church located at 6221 Colonel Glenn Road,” Lori said. “Their pastor (Mark DeYmaz) has a real pulse on the community there and does so much to serve those in need. As an example, they have one of the largest food pantries in central Arkansas and offer space to other nonprofits who are invested in helping the community.”

Mosaic Church also has a nonprofit, Vine and Village, designed to serve the community and the homeless in the surrounding area. 

The Wilburs said they had connected with DeYmaz somewhat providentially since the Wilburs needed space to open a clinic, and Mosaic Church was interested in a non-profit to provide clinical care to the community.  

“We just had a planning meeting with our team about needing a location for our future clinic when Pastor Mark called with an idea to renovate an unfinished area within the Mosaic property,” Lee said. 

Since then, the renovation planning has moved quickly and the project actually began on Monday, March 11. The architects and contractors estimate a 12-week renovation so that the first Divine Mercy Health Center primary care clinic project could be complete by mid-June.

The ministry of Divine Mercy Health Center is in need of financial support to make this innovative primary care clinic a reality. 

“The total construction and renovation cost will approach $630,000,” Lee said. 

The design of the physical clinic would allow Divine Mercy Health Center to serve 800 medical visits a month. The clinic will offer comprehensive primary care, mental health care and substance abuse counseling. 

Patients will have flexible payment options to include a very low monthly membership that will include numerous primary care visits, lab work and mental health assessments. DMHC will also have the ability to bill insurance. 

Health scholarships can be funded through philanthropy where a donor could donate a yearly membership to a homeless person or family, for example. 

Even with the completion of the Divine Mercy Health Center clinic, the community outreach work of the ministry does not stop. The ministry plans to expand its missions in southwest and downtown Little Rock and North Little Rock. 

The community outreach expansion has the potential to reach thousands of vulnerable and marginalized Arkansans. The community outreach expansion brings the total fundraising goal for Divine Mercy Health Center to $1 million. Interested individuals and businesses can help Divine Mercy Health Center by supporting their “Open the Doors Campaign.” 

While there is still plenty of work to be done, the Wilburs are secure in their faith, knowing that God is the true founder of Divine Mercy Health Center. 

“I think of what Lee always says when we’re dreaming of this ministry — if Jesus was in charge of modern health care, how would he do it?” Lori said. “He would love the person, and he would serve the person. … He always heals them spiritually before he ever heals them physically. It’s that whole personal approach to healthcare, that we can’t separate mind, body and spirit. … We know the importance of Jesus and healing, and that there is no true healing without his presence.”

Want to help?

To donate to the Divine Mercy Health Center’s capital campaign, visit divinemercyhealthcenter.org. If you’re interested in volunteering at the clinic, visit divinemercyhealthcenter.org/how-to-volunteer/.

Please read our Comments Policy before posting.