Alma Illery
Known as the "Doctor of Good Will," Alma Illery was a pioneer and civic leader from the Hill District who was instrumental in establishing Camp Achievement, a woodsy Fayette County summer outpost for hundreds of inner-city youngsters that operated for more than 50 years.
She promoted integration in local hospitals and supported an array of humanitarian efforts. She single-handedly lobbied Congress in 1944 to pass legislation establishing Jan. 5 as George Washington Carver Day, in memory of Tuskegee's Institute's famed black scientist. The institute later presented Illery with an honorary doctorate in the field of humanities. She died in 1972. The Homewood medical center and others are named in her memory.
About the centers
The first medical center was set up in Homewood in 1968 with $1 million in federal funds and $600,000 in private donations.
Budget: The 13 centers, which operate under the umbrella Primary Health Services Inc., run on a combined annual budget of $6.2 million. More than $3.7 million comes from the government and $2.5 million is generated by patient and insurance payments, and foundation and private supporters.
Staff: 15 full-time physicians, a part-time ob-gyn, two outreach workers, seven part-time dentists, a full and part-time pharmacist, a part-time psychiatrist, six lab workers, five medical records technicians, four accountants and seven social services staff.
Patients: The centers have 63,000 patient visits a year, with more than 21,000 coming through the Homewood site.
Thirty percent of patients have Medicaid or Medicare coverage and 24 percent have no insurance. Patients who pay for the center's dental, prescription and family health services pay based on their income.
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