Citizen of the Week: Martha Wassum brings 'energy and care' to the DEO Clinic

Martha Wassum “is the volunteer backbone of the DEO Clinic, where for the last 18 years she has served in every capacity except the practice of medicine,” according to Heather Donahue, executive director, of the DEO Clinic.

The DEO Clinic, in Dalton’s Mack Gaston Community Center, serves individuals in Whitfield and Murray counties who are uninsured and have limited financial resources. The clinic began operations more than 15 years ago in donated space underneath the Waugh Street bridge as a medical outreach effort of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church.

A retired teacher, Wassum has been with the clinic since its inception.

“She recruits, screens and orients new volunteers and interviews prospective patients,” said Donahue. “Each month she coordinates the schedule for more than 80 medical and administrative support staff. She somehow juggles schedules for all of these individuals in roles so the right number of people are always on duty. For DEO, she is the historian, an eligibility specialist, a fundraiser and a cheerleader.”

Wassum is also active outside of DEO, at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, with the NAACP and with Meals on Wheels, and has previously volunteered at the Newcomer Academy, a Dalton Public Schools program that helps students in grades six and up learn English before they move into traditional classroom settings.

“We love the energy and care she infuses into every project she adopts, and we love her,” said Donahue.

For her many efforts on behalf of the DEO Clinic and in the community, the Dalton Daily Citizen names Martha Wassum Citizen of the Week.