It’s difficult to pin down exactly how or when the Thursday Afternoon Clinic became a steady fixture within the bustling, weekly rhythm of Arlington Free Clinic. But “Mary Anne Taylor’s Clinic,” as it’s also commonly called (referring to the staff nurse who’s managed it for over 10 years), has been an institution around here as far back as anyone can remember.
Thursday afternoon clinics tend to attract a certain “type” of volunteer whose schedule can accommodate a standard, weekly commitment on a certain day and time. By contrast, our evening clinics are operated primarily by people with daytime family responsibilities, students, or busy professionals coming straight from the office, whose lives don’t lend themselves to a regular “after-hours” schedule. Though some of these volunteers settle into a pattern—like always working on the first Wednesday of the month—most take advantage of the flexibility of the nighttime clinics and come when their schedules allow.
But, should you visit AFC next Thursday afternoon around two o’clock, most of the people you’ll find here are the same ones you would have encountered a decade ago on any given Thursday at 2 p.m. There’s something about this cohort that’s unlike any other. Its members have formed a special bond that keeps them coming back week after week. Although they’ve said goodbye to some of their tribe who have moved on to new pastures, they wholeheartedly welcome newcomers into the pack.
Everyone who works in the Thursday Afternoon Clinic refers to Kay Nassetta fondly as The Boss. As Exam Room Coordinator, she makes sure that patients, providers, scribes and interpreters are all where they’re supposed to be – and that the prescriptions, referrals, and lab orders are shipshape. The days Kay isn’t volunteering at AFC, she works as an Auxiliary Volunteer and Escort at Virginia Hospital Center. Congratulate her on receiving her 24,500 hour pin for all of the volunteer time she’s given to VHC over 41 years!
Dr. Michael Ball is one of the longest-serving providers in the Thursday Clinic. When we moved to an Electronic Medical Record system nine years ago, he considered retiring from volunteering, but we were unwilling to let such a fantastic volunteer go! Kit Gordon became his scribe and interpreter, and the two have been inseparable ever since.
Our provider team includes a number of new faces, such as Dr. Kenneth Quinto, a Medical Officer/Epidemiologist at the FDA. Dr. Quinto’s employer gives him time every Thursday to see AFC patients—he gets to leave his desk job and practice medicine, and AFC gets a fantastic provider who our patients love.
Bud Hensgen has been an interpreter with the Thursday Afternoon Clinic for over 10 years. A retired Foreign Service Officer who learned Spanish during postings in Central and South America, Bud is fun to talk to and a keen translator who helps patients feel at ease during their appointments. Next time you’re here on a Thursday, ask him about gardening or brewing beer.
Dr. Nicole Swistak is an optometrist who has been volunteering since 2012. She used to live across the street from the Clinic and learned about us when our new building was going up, essentially right in her backyard.
There’s a fantastic team of nurses and lab techs who serve regularly on Thursdays. Ellen Croog, RN is a seasonal member of this team because she spends her winters living in Mexico. Be sure to look for some of her beautiful paintings brightening up the walls of the Clinic next time you’re here.
Mary Anne Taylor, RN, the staff nurse who leads the Thursday Afternoon Clinic, is retiring next month. Everyone will miss her— but especially those who volunteer in her clinic; she has made Thursday afternoons feel like home for them for the past decade.
Dr. Raymond Hoare is a cardiologist who’s been part of the Thursday team since 2000. He’s also an avid cook who can be found volunteering at Gonzaga’s Father McKenna Center when he’s not picking up extra primary care appointments for us at AFC