The ESTELLA BYRD WHITMAN COMMUNITY CENTER; a Ft King Presbyterian Church Beneficiary. Article by Pamela Lewin, M.D. 5/17/25
Tucker Hill and its surrounding neighborhoods are located on the West side of Ocala, FL. The area we have identified is from US 441 on the East, to 27th Avenue on the West, and from NW 10th Street (Hwy 27), South to SR 200. It is 25% the area of Marion County. Population in 2023: 15,272 with 51% renter households. Ocala’s population is 63.92% White, 19.79% Black or African American and 3.66% Asian. In Tucker Hill, which was designated a Health Care desert, Black 44% White 29.8% Hispanic 18% Asian .9% Median household income below state average and unemployed percentage above state avg. Average income $36,988 versus the average state $82,200 In this area twice the National average of households receive public assistance. In 2011, unemployment in Marion County stood at 12% compared to 9% Nationwide. By analysis of a questionnaire delivered to members of the local churches, and using Florida Charts 2016, it was found that residents in the 34475 Zip code, which includes Tucker Hill, had marginal access to care and many of the Community’s residents would visit one of the hospitals’ Emergency Rooms for both emergency and primary care services. One of the needs expressed by members of the community was to have a medical home and resource center for the Tucker Hill area, to address a gap in care as, despite the fact that there are other facilities on the west side of town, these residents were not getting their medical needs met on a consistent basis.
Enter The Estella Byrd Whitman Wellness & Community Resource Center, Inc. (EBWWCRC), 817 NW 7th St, Ocala FL 34475. Founder, Carolyn Adams, a Nurse Practitioner, answered the call from her late grandmother, after whom the center is named, to get her education and return to serve the people of this area. Together with her husband, Art and myself and a Board of Directors, she established the facility on the land where her grandmother’s house was built, which she donated for the purpose. Our first location was at the St Paul’s AME Church across the street, as the house had been demolished and the City had not yet approved the site plan for the Center.“We have struggled to get to this point,” Adams says. “We had a triple wide mobile home donated, but it sat on the lot, for three years pending approval and completion of the site plan, and had to be destroyed, when it was found to be full of mold.” Undeterred, the Board of Directors solicited donations. Unfortunately, Art became ill and passed in 2013. Carolyn and I continued to carry out our Mission and Vision, and in March 2018 we held our official opening and ribbon cutting. Our Church was well represented at the ribbon cutting and has remained engaged financially and has been supportive in many activities, all along. The photograph shows our First Responder gift for the Center from the Mission Ministry being accepted by Levonda Goodson, the Clinical Director.
EBWWCRC is a 501 (c) (3) non- profit organization incorporated under the laws of the State of Florida on November 9, 2009 and approved for Tax-exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. Estella Byrd was established to meet the needs of the Citizens of Marion County, FL living in and around the Tucker Hill neighborhood, who are indigent, have Medicare or Medicaid or are uninsured and /or able to pay on a sliding scale. The Mission is ” To treat all citizens, regardless of ability to pay.” We established a Diabetes Education and Empowerment Program, obtained the license to provide ACCESS for patients to get Medicaid and Food Stamps, and engaged in a Community Health Home Visitation program with the Ocala Fire Rescue, under Capt. Chris Hickman. We also served meals with St Paul’s, to the homeless, some of whom were our patients. Ft King members also volunteered in this endeavor.
We continued to serve the community with Diabetes classes and proceeded to host a series of 4 annual successful Golf Tournaments, at which time two significant benefactors came forward, allowing for the purchase of a modular medical building. At about that time, my husband, Dr A.C. Marsh, retired and he donated almost the entire contents of his medical office. But there were more obstacles in the way. The location was still Zoned Residential, and this had to be changed to Business to have a Medical Clinic. The official opening Day of the Center was March 21, 2018. However it was not until February of 2020 that the Zoning change was officially approved and we were able to see patients at our facility.
In 2016, my mother Lena Lewin, passed, and I resigned from my position as Medical Director of a local Occupational Health clinic, and was able to devote myself full-time, as physician and Medical Director starting to see patients in 2018, in addition to being Co- Founder. We had no steady source of funding at the time, but we trusted God and were determined to go ahead and serve the Community, which we did with the help of a Community Health Worker. Early in 2020 we had to close due to the pandemic, but reopened in the Fall, busier than ever. In our first year we served 200 patients and that number doubled in each of the following two years. We participated in the Patient Engagement and Appointment program, in collaboration with Advent Health’s Care 360, easing the transition from Hospital to home and saw patients for follow up within a week of being discharged from the hospital.
We collaborated with the Heart of Florida Health Center and Langley Health Center to apply for HRSA Grants, so we could get a new building, but missed it both times by a narrow margin. We also saw patients from Interfaith, on an emergency basis. We had big plans as a Resource Center to be the shining light on Tucker Hill, a hub where residents can come to get help which will make life better for everyone. A rising tide lifts all boats! Today, the clinic has a satellite location at the SMA medical Center on Martin Luther Avenue.
Late in 2024, a State Grant was awarded, which allowed the Center to hire a new CEO and two Nurse Practitioners, and made for continuity of care on the retirement of both Carolyn Adams and myself. We are still engaged in the efforts to fund the center, now called the Estella Byrd Whitman Community Center. If anyone is interested, our church will be visiting the Center on a field trip on Friday June 20th, and there will be a sign-up sheet available for those who wish to go. We anticipate to make two other stops at Legacy Park and at The Heritage Trail in West Ocala.
Thank you, Ft King for faithfully partnering with us for what we think is a very worthy cause.