Above: Dr. Bob Weierman '60 speaks to WLOX of Biloxi, Mississippi,
about the work of the Bethel Free Health Clinic.

Community Rallies Around Free Health Clinic

Dr. Bob Weierman ‘60 is not resting on his laurels in retirement. Once a week, he sees patients at Biloxi, Mississippi’s Bethel Free Health Clinic, where he also serves on the Board. The clinic provides free health care to approximately 1,400 patients per year.

“We’ve been running it at a deficit,” Weierman said, “so I felt we ought to be doing something to get funding.”

In addition to soliciting funds from individuals and organizations in Mississippi, where he has made his home since 2000, Weierman turned to his fellow Sons of Xavier. First, he emailed his classmates (who actively correspond through the SOX60 email group), who quickly donated $1,500 to the clinic. One classmate volunteered to match whatever the entire Xavier community raised, so Weierman turned to Xavier President Jack Raslowsky.

Xavier’s youngest Sons quickly responded to the Bethel Free Health Clinic’s call. During a fall dress down day, they raised $2,500. “I got a call from [Director of Student Activities] Alicia Psillos on December 21 with the news,” Weierman recalled. “What a Christmas gift!” 

 
Above: A Xavier banner hangs in the waiting room at the Bethel Free
Health Clinic in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Once his classmate matched the funds raised, Weierman had $8,000 for the clinic. It had an enormous impact on the non-profit, which has operating costs of $7,000 monthly. $3,000 was dedicated to new laptops for the office, allowing for better record-keeping and the electronic transfer of prescriptions. The rest of the donation gives the clinic much-needed flexibility to care for patients.

Weierman continues his work raising awareness for the clinic. He recently invited WLOX, a local news station, to the clinic (click here to view the video), and on February 3 he and the clinic were featured in The Sun Herald of Biloxi.

He credits his passion for medicine and caring for others to his Jesuit education, which he continued at Saint Peter’s College and Georgetown University School of Medicine. “When I went into medicine, I had no problem with people calling me and not having money to pay,” he said. “That’s the kind of medicine we used to practice.”

Anyone interested in the work of the Bethel Free Health Clinic can email Dr. Weierman at rjwmd1@gmail.com.