4 weeks Ago
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Jericho Road Community Health Center provides essential healthcare to some of Buffalo's most underserved communities.
Founder Dr. Myron Glick and his wife were on a sabbatical last year when he came to a determination about the future of his career. "I didn't want to be CEO anymore for a number of reasons.
I have carried the weight of leading Jericho for almost 30 years and it's a heavy burden," Dr. Glick said. "I also am a busy family doctor.
I deliver babies. I see lots and lots of patients in the office and I do a lot of work with our global sites and also a lot of advocacy." The board's search is now underway for a new CEO.
"I don't think they should be looking for another doctor Glick. I think what this organization needs now is different than maybe what it needed the last 30 years," Dr. Glick said.
"We need someone who can invest full time in being CEO. We need someone who can help us be operationally strong. I hope it's going to be someone that loves Jesus, believes in this mission and is willing to give everything they have to make the organization go beyond me.
" In 1997, Jericho Road Family Practice opened on the corner of Auburn and Barton Streets on the west side of Buffalo. It was a private practice dedicated to serving that community. In 2012, the name changed to Jericho Road Community Health Center and with federal funding, Dr.
Glick and his wife Joyce transferred ownership of the practice to a new entity. More people were served, including asylum seekers and refugees. "Today, we have an organization that's over 600 people with a $45 million budget and we actually see more patients around the world than we do in Buffalo.
God's been very faithful to us," Dr. Glick said. His passion to help the less fortunate started at a young age, while his parents were Mennonite missionaries in Belize.
"I saw what it looked like to live in a village where there were no doctors. I saw how people struggled," Dr. Glick said.
"I think that's where I got the idea, but I'll tell you the last almost 30 years on a daily basis, I see the brokenness in our healthcare system. I see the way the vulnerable, the way the poor are treated, and it's a fuel. I've witnessed so much, and so I have a responsibility to bear witness to that suffering and to try to help as best I can.
That really has been the energy for Jericho to grow. I haven't lost that energy. I want to continue to be a doctor at Jericho.
I want to continue to be involved in advocacy and work to see a system be more fair to the most vulnerable people." Dr. Glick also mentioned the political climate has had an impact on his career.
"It's definitely not been easy to be the CEO of Jericho the last two years because we've taken a lot of heat for our stand on the side of the immigrant, whether it's an asylum seeker or refugee," Dr. Glick said. "We believe that these are our neighbors and we should do everything we can to make Buffalo be a home for them, but it's not the reason I'm stepping aside as CEO.
In fact, right now, especially the last four months with the new administration, I've had second thoughts, to be honest with you, because I think this is a really, really challenging time." To stream WGRZ on your phone, you need the WGRZ app. Next up in 5 Example video title will go here for this video Next up in 5 Example video title will go here for this video.
