tepeyac clinic

Article Sparks National Coverage for Fairfax Clinic

By Mary Frances McCarthy
HERALD Staff Writer
(From the Issue of 9/14/06)

Since The Washington Post published an article on medical practices blending health and faith on its front page on Aug. 31, phone calls and e-mails have been pouring in from across the country to Tepeyac Family Center in Fairfax. The above-the-fold photo of Dr. John Bruchalski praying with his staff caught the attention of patients and supporters of the nonprofit obstetrics gynecology (OB-GYN) practice.
“We were really happy to see the Post show how you could practice good medicine and practice your faith,” said Bob Laird, executive director of Tepeyac. “We don’t want to bad-mouth other practices, we just want to show it’s possible. Good medicine comes first.”
All comments have been supportive and positive. MSNBC.com posted the story on its Web site, and online and print papers across the country have re-printed it as well.
“The Today Show” visited the clinic on Sept. 1 for several hours and turned the waiting room into a studio to film a segment for a possible upcoming show.
Laird was aware that the story would run in the A section of the Post but he wasn’t aware of the impact it would have.
“I knew it was a news and not a health story, but I had no idea it was going to be above the fold,” he said.
The article was important to the clinic for three reasons, he said. “It validates our work at Tepeyac as a leading OB-GYN practice where faith and good medicine work together; it brings to the public square the legitimacy of NFP not merely as an alternative to birth control, but also as an effective means of empowering women to understand their bodies and make good moral decisions; and it brings to the public square the larger issue of allowing the dignity of the human person to re-enter the bioethical/medical conversation in a practical clinical way.”
Part of practicing their faith at Tepeyac is helping those in crisis situations. According to Laird, 60 percent of Tepeyac’s patients do not have insurance and the majority of these women come to them through referrals from crisis pregnancy centers.
“Our priority is pregnant women contemplating abortion who are sent to us through crisis pregnancy centers,” he said.
The clinic currently has a waiting list for new patients but hopes to overcome this situation soon. However, “we will not turn away a woman in a crisis situation,” Laird said. “Everyone else, we work in as much as we can. We feel badly that we can’t take more patients.”
With the help of Divine Mercy Care — a nonprofit organization that has held fund-raisers on Tepeyac’s behalf — Tepeyac has raised enough money to provide the start-up costs needed to hire another doctor and are currently interviewing for the position. They have interviewed several candidates, but the doctor they hire needs not only be a competent doctor, he or she also has to be willing to relocate to Northern Virginia at his or her own expense and want to practice medicine with the same ethical principals as the rest of the Tepeyac center.
At any given moment, a doctor or nurse at Tepeyac could be praying with a patient or visiting the chapel in the clinic. Laird said the staff does not push prayer or their beliefs on patients, but if it seems fitting or a patient requests it, they will pray with or for someone. The purpose of the clinic is not to be a chapel, but to be a “catalyst for people to practice their faith and moral beliefs more than just on Sunday.”
The Third Annual Divine Mercy Care Gala to benefit Tepeyac Family Center will be held on Nov. 11 at the Washington Dulles Hilton in Herndon at 6 p.m. For more information call Jen Schiavone 703/273-9440, ext. 120, e-mail gala@divinemercycare.org, or see the ad in this week’s HERALD.

Mary Frances McCarthy can be reached at mmccarthy@catholicherald.com.