ABC News anchor Charles Gibson called the Eureka Christian Health Outreach (ECHO) Clinic in Eureka Springs "the American Spirit at work" when reporting on the free health clinic in a story January 9.

"One town that has found a solution to the healthcare crisis is Eureka Springs, Arkansas," Gibson said in a three-minute segment on ABC World News Tonight with Charles Gibson.

Then came a feature article in People magazine April 10. Next up is a scheduled appearance on Oprah.

ECHO certainly didn't invent free health clinics, so why has the faith-based volunteer organization garnered so much positive publicity on the national scene?

"What makes this so unique is the entire community has embraced it and supported it," said Clinic Director Suzie Bell, whose husband Dan Bell, MD, is medical director of the clinic. "Every single church in town participates. And every single doctor in this town participates, as well as doctors from Berryville. That is just not to be taken for granted."

Suzie Bell is vice chairman of the Arkansas Association of Charitable Clinics, which represents 21 clinics across the state. She knows that most other free clinics struggle to get enough nurses, doctors, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals to volunteer.

ECHO is for people who fall between the gaps. They don't make enough to purchase health insurance, and they don't qualify for government health programs.

"I think everyone is taking ownership in it, too," Bell said. "When people say to myself or my husband, 'You guys are doing such a good job,' I say, 'Hold it. We have all built this organization. You own a piece of it like I do.' ECHO couldn't operate without the mass of people who support it either physically by volunteering or by donations and even praise for us. This is genuinely a community effort that everyone has invested in."

The twice-monthly clinic started Nov. 10, 2005, and had its roots in Suzie Bell's desire to feed the hungry. But she had observed that many people are reluctant to sit down with strangers to eat a free meal. They may feel badly that they are in need of charity.

"My husband said, 'I bet they will come if we provide medical care with it,'" Bell said. "That is how it got started."

ECHO is unique in providing meals not just to volunteers but patients, their families and anyone else who shows up. The meals are provided free to about 150 to 175 people by local churches on a rotating basis.

"Something magical happens when you break bread together," Bell said. "Barriers are broken down. There are no roles and no lines like, 'I'm a banker and you are unemployed.' You start connecting as a human being. That is really pivotal. I love it. That is how you start to get to know somebody as a person."

The clinic averages from 40 to 50 patients per night. A lot of people have neglected chronic diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure. Without treatment, they are likely to wait until they are extremely ill and then go to the emergency room at the hospital, costing the healthcare system more money than if the chronic disease had been treated properly.

Now that they can go to the doctor when they need one, they are healthier, happier and have a better quality of life. They also know that others in their community genuinely care about them.

Clearly those involved in ECHO are putting into action their religious beliefs about the importance of caring for others.

"We're supposed to help each other," Bell said in the ABC News interview. "We're supposed to love each other. To me that is more important than having a perfectly clean house."

But being in the national limelight has heartened the volunteers while perhaps inspiring people to volunteer for similar free clinics elsewhere.

"We have not sought any of this publicity," Bell said. "Nothing. This has all come to us. We are just a little blown away and humbled by it, definitely. It certainly seems that God is working overtime on our behalf lately."