FREE
CLINICS
CARE FOR
VIRGINIA

CARING FOR YOU AND OUR COMMUNITIES, TODAY AND EVERY DAY.

Right now, people in our community are in desperate need of medical care. These vulnerable Virginians lack health insurance and are often in found in underserved communities. They depend on the healthcare safety net to receive the care they need and avoid healthcare crises. If you believe healthcare is a right, we need your support. In 2020, against incredible obstacles, we responded to the challenge. But the need for our services is more pressing than ever and we can’t do it alone. Clinical volunteers and donor support will strengthen the capacity of free and charitable clinics’ efforts to provide care, decrease hospital burden, and advance health equity.

FREE CLINICS CARE FOR

Become a Patient

From the mountains to the coast, free clinics are in communities across Virginia and ready to provide the care you need. Find a clinic near you.

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Volunteer

Clinics operate with 14 volunteers for every one paid staff member. Help us provide essential care to those who would otherwise go without.

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Make a Donation

Your lifesaving investment will help us move one step closer toward a day when all people have access to comprehensive, quality healthcare.

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Image for OUR <strong>COVID-19</strong> RESPONSE

OUR COVID-19 RESPONSE

Since early 2020, Virginia’s free and charitable clinics have been serving on the front lines, doing everything possible to address the healthcare needs of their patients across the state. This has included providing accessible COVID-19 screening, testing, treatment, and vaccination services to vulnerable and diverse communities across Virginia. Meeting this urgent need continues to place enormous financial and staffing strain on our free and charitable clinics. Our clinics need volunteer and donor support to fulfill their mission and help keep people healthy and well. Your help can make an immediate impact. #FreeClinicsCare

Get Facts

SEE WHAT MAKES FREE CLINICS
SO SPECIAL

WHO USES FREE CLINICS?

There’s a myth that only people living in extreme poverty use free clinics. The truth is that free and charitable clinic patients are people just like you. They are moms, dads, teachers, neighbors, college graduates, and working families — people who are simply struggling to make ends meet. Many patients are simply regular folks who do not qualify for Medicare or Medicaid yet can’t afford the high cost of private insurance. Free clinics provide them with a lifeline. In addition, many free clinics patients previously held employer-sponsored health insurance but may have lost it in the wake of the pandemic. Visit our Patient Stories page and meet some inspiring and relatable Virginians who moved past stigma to receive quality care at free clinics. #FreeClinicsCare

View Patient Stories

WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR CARE?

Free and charitable clinics across Virginia serve as a safety net to those who do not qualify for Medicaid and cannot afford private health insurance or the direct cost of medical services. Each individual clinic has its own eligibility requirements. Generally, if your annual household income is at or below 200% (or 2x) of the Federal Poverty Level, (for 2020, $25,520 annual income for an individual), and you do not have health insurance, you may qualify to receive care and services at a Free Clinic. However, if you do have health insurance, you may still qualify for care. Visit our eligibility page for details. Find a clinic near you. #FreeClinicsCare

Am I Eligible? Find a Clinic

WHY ARE FREE CLINICS NECESSARY?

Many clinic patients have jobs but can’t afford insurance. Astonishingly, four out of five uninsured Virginians come from working families. They do not qualify for Medicaid, do not have access to employer-sponsored insurance, and lack the means to secure a private health plan on their own. Without insurance – and without access to free and charitable clinics – these hardworking individuals would struggle to get the care and treatment they need for chronic diabetes, heart disease, and COPD among other illnesses. And when chronic illness remains unmanaged or untreated, people are often left with the emergency room as their only option for care. This results in a costly and preventable burden on communities. #FreeClinicsCare

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HOW CAN FREE CLINICS AFFORD TO DELIVER HIGH QUALITY CARE?

It takes a community to care for communities. Free and charitable clinics function almost entirely with the support of selfless donors and volunteers. Area hospitals donate state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment and support our teams with access to specialty services. Leading pharmaceutical companies donate medications so patients can get their prescription drugs at no cost. Many staff members, including licensed physicians and nurses as well as clinical and non-clinical team members, volunteer their time. They work together to deliver the highest quality care to patients – care that is all-encompassing and treats the whole patient. This includes primary care, specialty care, dental and vision care, mental health, social services, and more. Virginia’s free clinics have a long history of caring for underserved populations and doing so with compassion, dignity, and respect. #FreeClinicsCare

COMPLETE CARE VERSUS URGENT CARE?

While free and charitable clinics serve as an urgent care option in a time of immediate need, perhaps the greatest value of free clinics is the ongoing care that is provided to their patients, many of whom suffer from chronic illnesses or medical issues such as diabetes, asthma, and hypertension. Clinics strive to form long-term relationships with patients and serve as a medical home-base so that people can get and stay on a path toward better health. Combining primary care with chronic care management, dental and vision care, pharmaceutical management, access to mental health treatment, and more, patients have a real opportunity to maintain good health. Whole person care makes a meaningful difference in people’s lives. Explore the range of services offered at free clinics across the state. #FreeClinicsCare

Our Services

OUR AMAZING AND CARING PROVIDERS

Our volunteer providers are our greatest asset. With selflessness and compassion, over 2,000 licensed healthcare providers as well as 4,800 non-licensed volunteers donate their time and talents to more than 60,000 patients at 60+ free clinics across Virginia. They provide quality care to patients who just don’t have access. And their interventions often help save the lives of people who would have otherwise gone without treatment. Many of our volunteer providers speak about the freedom of being able to practice true medicine – the kind of medicine that’s pure and unencumbered from the pressures of an insurance-based private practice. At free and charitable clinics, doctors and nurses spend as much time with patients as is needed. They really listen to their stories and gain a more complete picture of a person’s health. This leads to better outcomes. Meet our teams. #FreeClinicsCare

Our Providers

HEALTH DISPARITIES AND EQUAL ACCESS TO QUALITY CARE

Virginia’s free and charitable clinics have worked tirelessly to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion in all we do and provide services that also address social and economic drivers of poor health. Free clinics are culturally sensitive organizations, welcoming patients from a wide spectrum of ethnicities and backgrounds. This is not one size fits all medicine.

It is a fact that communities of color are more likely to lack access to affordable housing, healthy food, medical care, and transportation. Those factors, along with many others, disproportionately impact the health of black and brown communities across Virginia. And clinics play a pivotal role in reducing health disparities in these and other underserved communities across the state.

JOIN US IN SUPPORT OF A HEALTHIER VIRGINIA

We are in vital need of your support and the support of the communities we serve. Here are three ways you can join us in our campaign for a healthier Virginia.

1. Make a donation to your local clinic.

2. Volunteer your time by serving at your local clinic.

3. You or your organization can sponsor this campaign and help fund our efforts to spread the word about Virginia’s free clinics. For more information on sponsoring the #FreeClinicsCare campaign, use this link.

Donate Volunteer Become a Sponsor

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