Season 1 ep. 6 | The Patina Podcast | Dr. Alan W. Gruning Shares How His Passion was Derived From Destruction

In the sixth episode of The Patina Podcast, we sat down with Dr. Alan Gruning from the Southwest Florida Free Pain Clinic. We dove right into conversation about the opioid crisis, and Dr. Gruning shared with us how his passion to make a dent in the opioid crisis was derived from destruction and was driven by faith.

In 2004 Dr. Gruning found himself at a crossroad when everything he had, including his house and his practice, was destroyed by Hurricane Charley. Not knowing what to do next, Dr. Gruning turned to his faith for guidance and found himself being called to open a one-of-a-kind medical facility. He went blindly into this new endeavor and found that not only was the pastor offering him the church facilities but that over 50 people from his church wanted to be volunteers. Christian Medical Ministries was operated out of the church for many years transforming bible study rooms into exam rooms then back to bible study rooms every day.

In 2016 when Dr. Gruning was able to secure his own building, he used the base he had built with Christian Medical Ministries and started the Southwest Florida Free Pain Clinic. At the clinic, they work to get patients who suffer from acute and chronic pain off their medications by finding the root of the problem and treating it with holistic care. The clinic provides care to the uninsured making it the only free pain clinic in Florida, and perhaps in the entire United States.

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