Dr. Grace (center) and Steve Chandler, D.O., speak with patient Roberta Ellis. |
Youngstown, Ohio, is not the kind of place where many people choose to move. For much of the 20th century, it was a thriving city, but in the 1970s the steel mills shut down, taking away the area’s biggest industry. Since then the population has dwindled, unemployment has gone up and most of today’s residents are poor and medically underserved.
For Darrell Grace, D.O., however, Youngstown is home. Five generations of her family have lived and worked in this area. She left to come to MSUCOM for her medical education, but she knew that she would return to serve her community. While many people leave Youngstown looking for a better life, she returned, hoping to make life better for those left behind.
“I needed to come back to this area,” she says. “It’s my home.”
Dr. Grace knew quite a bit about medicine before coming to East Lansing. She was a nurse for 14 years, including 10 at an osteopathic hospital in Warren, Ohio. It was there that she learned about the osteopathic philosophy and determined that she herself would become a D.O. She took advantage of MSUCOM’s strong training in primary care to become the doctor she needed to be to help the community.
Dr. Grace shows off her Michigan State University pride. |
After graduating in 1992, she kept her promise to herself and moved backed to Youngstown to set up a private practice. Dr. Grace admits that life is hard in this town. “There’s not a lot to do here. When the steel mills closed, all the businesses that depended on them closed too. It’s been tough for everyone.” That’s why she strives so hard to support those in need.
For the last four years, Dr. Grace has volunteered her time and energy to help establish Grace Place Medical Services (named after “God’s grace,” not the doctor.) This community clinic is the work of the Greater Youngstown Coalition of Christians, a group of 65 inner-city and suburban churches that have banded together, in association with Forum Health, to provide services to those in need. Dr. Grace is the assistant medical director and also serves on the Board of Directors.
The clinic provides services on a sliding fee scale, and patients pay only what they can afford. Because of this, it relies heavily on donations from churches, community groups and doctors who give time and supplies. When the clinic first opened, Dr. Grace began contacting fellow physicians and asked them to donate unused drug samples given to them by pharmaceutical companies. In three months, she collected over $100,000 worth of medications for those who couldn’t afford the high-priced prescriptions.
Grace Place includes clinics for podiatry, dermatology, surgery, and hypertension. High blood pressure and diabetes are major problems among the residents they serve. “We try to teach the patients,” she explains, “but we also do a lot of scolding. It’s hard for them to stick to healthy diets.”
It also serves as a teaching hospital, taking students from area universities and educating them on the challenges of urban medicine. “The one thing I try to teach students is that you can’t be everything to everyone. You always feel that you can give more, but you have to know your limitations.”
Dr. Grace was recently honored by MSUCOM for her efforts. Last October, she received the Dean’s Award for Meritorious Contribution. For Dr. Grace, however, all credit goes to the college for giving her the education that has allowed her to help so many others. “They will never know how many lives they touched,” she adds. “I love my school.”
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