‘We see a lot of helplessness’: At a Detroit clinic, transportation barriers put chronic disease, injured patients at risk

John Mailey has seen young men wither away from untreated diabetes.

“Their eyes go bad. Their teeth fall out. They can’t feel their feet,” Mailey recalled, because prolonged, high blood sugar levels caused numbness.

Mailey is determined to protect his patients from the harmful effects of chronic disease. He runs JAR Primary Care and Wellness on Detroit’s east side. The clinic offers weight and blood pressure management, along with other basic medical services, and each month, the clinic’s staff expects to care for 130 to 150 patients.

Yet a portion of them don’t make it to the clinic’s doorstep.