Neighbor News June 2025
Reflecting on our History: Celebrating NeighborHealth’s 7th Anniversary!
Navigating illness or a serious diagnosis is difficult for anyone, but for patients without insurance, it could mean the difference between getting the best treatments available, or settling for whatever you can afford. When it comes to matters of health, it’s heartbreaking to know that not every patient has access to the same level of care.
That’s where the vision for NeighborHealth Center began nearly 10 years ago. This week, we celebrate our 7th anniversary, and we’re proud to have served more than 32,000 patients since opening our clinic seven years ago. To celebrate this important milestone, we took some time to talk with the caregivers who have been here through it all, sharing some of the organization’s rich history.
Betsy Joyner, PA-C, Director of Clinical Services
Q: Tell us how NeighborHealth got started.
In 2015, NeighborHealth visionary and co-founder Susanne Berger was battling ovarian cancer. One day during chemotherapy, Susanne saw another patient who was so nauseous she was crying, and Susanne realized that because the woman had no insurance, she couldn’t get the same anti-nausea medication Susanne had been given to limit her side effects. Right then, she vowed to God that if she survived, she’d establish a clinic that would honor God by providing excellent medical care regardless of a patient’s ability to pay. She recruited her dear friend and proven nurse leader, Sue Ellen Thompson, to help turn her vision into a reality. After years of research, planning, praying, fundraising and assembling a small but mighty team, NeighborHealth opened to the public in June of 2018.
Doug Briggs, MD, Senior Physician
Q: What inspires you?
I am inspired to demonstrate the love of Christ by helping our neighbors right here in Wake County get high-quality healthcare—regardless of their life circumstances, where they’re from, or whether they can pay. Just a few months ago, I was treating a 69-year-old North Carolina native who told me I was the first and only doctor he’d ever had. The man had been uninsured his entire life, previously seeking care only in the emergency department. At first I was floored—it was the first time I’d heard that comment from a patient who was not from a remote place in the world like the village I used to serve in China. But then I realized this man’s situation wasn’t unique. In fact, we have many neighbors here in Raleigh who only seek care when seriously ill or injured—there are roughly 100,000 in Wake County without insurance and another 100,000 with Medicaid who have very limited options for healthcare. Becoming someone’s first and only trusted physician is a very humbling gift.
Betsy Joyner, PA-C, Director of Clinical Services
Q: What was it like in the early days?
In the early days, there were very few patients, and we primarily grew through word of mouth. As providers, we had to do a little of everything – we were drawing blood, learning and navigating electronic medical records, and trying to figure out what resources existed in the community to help support our patients. We’d often see whole families together – we’d care for four or five members of the same family all in one room at one time. We learned quickly we needed a medical interpreter, so we hired Marie, plus two nurses and another PA, and we were well on our way after just three months. By the end of the first year, our days were full, and we expanded to the office space next door. It was exciting, exhausting, and incredibly rewarding.
Dr. Briggs
Q: What are some challenges NeighborHealth has had to overcome?
In September 2018, shortly after we opened, Susanne’s cancer returned. Sadly, her co-founder Sue Ellen’s husband also became very ill with cancer, forcing her to step down from her role as CEO the same month that Susanne passed away, in July 2021. All of this heart-breaking transition occurred around the COVID-19 pandemic—which was an incredibly difficult—and pivotal time for NeighborHealth Center. At the onset of the pandemic, medical visits nearly halted for months and NHC had to furlough half of its staff—we feared we would have to close our doors for good. Fortunately, Sue Ellen leaned into her public health relationships and established NeighborHealth as a testing site for COVID-19. We became a vaccine provider, which was a huge operational lift, and we were able to hire back our staff and then some. Today, we still struggle to get the federal funding needed to support our mission, but we keep trying! The emotional ups and downs are intense, but I am convinced that God continues to answer our prayers according to the vision that He has given to NeighborHealth Center.
As we celebrate our 7th anniversary, we are grateful to all who have supported us throughout this incredible journey. With God’s grace, we aim to do more than ever this year to support our Wake County neighbors through the provision of excellent, compassionate and affordable healthcare.
