A couple of the takeaways that came from this year’s Ohio Valley Health Center Gala were a reminder that a few simple thoughts can grow into an organization that has transformed the lives of thousands of area residents, and that one person can have a big impact on everything around her.

Like many things, the center, which has provided quality health care for the region’s uninsured and underinsured for more than 20 years now, got its start when community leaders, including the Rev. Bruce Hitchcock, the former director of Urban Mission Ministries, started to look for answers to a simple — yet complex — question.

“In 2004, as we were working at the Urban Mission taking care of people, I kept getting requests for pharmaceuticals: ‘I need medicine — pastor, can you pay for this prescription?’ Hitchcock said while speaking as part of a video presentation that was part of the gala program. “And of course, we couldn’t, because the need was so huge that if we hard started to pay for people’s pharmaceuticals,we would have been broke.”

The problem was not isolated to organizations like the Urban Mission, either.

“The more I talked about it, I found everybody was saying the same thing,” Hitchcock continued. “I mentioned it to then-Mayor Domenick Mucci, and he said, yeah, you’re right, and I’m hearing it, too.”

Hitchcock, who was among the 23 honorees who were recognized during the evening, explained that he and a group began meeting every month or every six weeks or so, talking among each other and trying to decide what they should do. When it was finally determined that a free health clinic was needed, they faced another issue.

Money.

“The biggest problem was the initial financial funding to get us rolling,” Hitchcock explained.

That problem was finally solved, thanks to a couple of local business owners.

“We’re called to encourage one another in our faith,” said Jody Glaub, who, with his wife, Carolyn, owns the Center of Music and Art in Wintersville. “He really did have a passion for this, but it really did seem like he had hit a wall, and things weren’t moving ahead in terms of getting it off the ground.”

Then came a $25,000 donation from the Glaubs and, at nearly the same time, a $25,000 donation from Jim McBane of McBane Insurance and Financial Services, and Hitchcock and his group were able to finally put their plans into motion.

And, in March of 2006, the Jefferson County Fourth Street Health Center opened its doors at 701 N. Fourth St.

The clinic has seen a lot of changes in its 20 years — it was, for example, forced to move to a temporary location at Trinity Medical Center East after the roof at the original building collapsed following a heavy snow, before it found its current home at 423 South St.

None of that has stopped the center from its mission of helping area residents. Since it opened, the center has recorded more than 32,000 patient visits from more than 5,000 individuals and provided care valued at more than $14 million. Last year, it served 502 patients, recorded 3,474 visits and filled 4,470 prescriptions — totaling $1,755,957 in free care.

Its first executive director, Diann Schmitt said during the evening that her involvement has been a privilege.

“I am very happy and extremely honored to be a part of the Ohio Valley Health Center, watching it grow, watching the providers grow, and seeing every patient have the opportunity to be helped, to be loved and to experience joy in healing,” she said.

“As a volunteer medical provider, I’m also filled with joy to see other practitioners grow, and other practitioners join us. It is such an honor to be with patients, to be with the staff and to be with other practitioners who I lean on.”

This year’s gala, which was held April 26 at the St. Florian Event Center, was special for a couple of reasons. First, it celebrated the center’s 20 years of operation, which is a milestone that few organizations are able to hit. Second, it marked the final gala for Ann Quillen, who has announced she will be leaving the post later this year.

She followed Schmitt and served from 2008 to 2015 before returning in 2020.

“Our clinic began when community leaders saw a need and took action,” Quillen said while speaking at the dinner. “Twenty years later, that vision has become a lasting legacy. While our mission hasn’t changed, our reach and impact have grown significantly. This progress is thanks to all of the supporters, the volunteers, the staff and the providers who continue to invest in providing quality care to those in need in the Ohio Valley.”

The center, she said, is a special place that some people don’t always understand.

“As I am in the process of concluding my tenure as the executive director for a second time, if I could have one wish granted, it would be that more and more people would understand the importance of the work that we do, that we’re on the front lines of helping people who woke up sick one morning, not knowing how they would pay for their doctor’s appointment. Any one of us could be in that place, and if we could all start to remember that, it would be an easier way to recognize that organizations like the Ohio Valley Health Center are critical to our community,” she said.

“And, like those who began our clinic 20 years ago, my wish would be fulfilled if all of us could see the need, embrace the vision and take the necessary steps to ensure the legacy of the vital work of the Ohio Valley Health Center will continue for decades to come,” she added.

Much of that growth has come under Quillen’s leadership, something Tony Mougianis, president of the center’s board, said.

“I want everyone to know that one person can make a difference,” he said. “Leadership is so crucial, and one person can change the world. In our little community, Ann Quillen changed the world.”

(Gallabrese, a resident of Steubenville, is senior writer for the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times)