St. Benedict the Moor Parish’s Clinic for the Homeless has served the primary care needs of Milwaukee’s homeless adults for more than 30 years. Dr. Michael Johnstone is the volunteer medical director of the clinic.
Johnstone and his staff help provide the comprehensive, prevention-focused health services to homeless adults who are unable to gain access to traditional health services. He has worked at the clinic since 2002.
“His work represents a heroic commitment to the community through kindness, courage, and unselfishness, both to meet a great need and to improve lives,” said Carolyn Laabs, clinic coordinator at St. Ben’s Clinic for the Homeless, who nominated Johnstone for the Health Care Hero Award.
Through his work, homeless men and women in the community receive the same respect and care that we all sometimes take for granted, Laabs said.
Dr. Johnstone specializes in family medicine at Columbia St. Mary’s. He also has served as assistant clinical professor in the department of Family Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Wauwatosa.
Johnstone oversees the overall function of the clinic and also is in charge of the nurse practitioners who also help to assure the quality of care at St. Ben’s equals that of other Columbia St. Mary’s facilities.
“Dr. Johnstone quietly goes about the work of helping us provide health care for St. Ben’s patients,” Laabs added. “His commitment speaks for him and it serves as an excellent example of volunteerism.”
