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Compassionate Care
CARING FOR THE WHOLE PERSON
People across Virginia are in desperate need of healthcare and free clinics are stepping in. Clinics provide ongoing, head to toe care that keeps patients healthy, well, and out of the hospital, which ultimately helps communities thrive.
Did you know that free and charitable clinics offer so much more than just a quick check-up or urgent care intervention?
Clinics surround patients with the complete care and intervention they need, enabling providers to focus on what’s really going on a patient’s life from a holistic sense. It goes beyond basic medical care and addresses the social and economic factors that may be impacting a patient’s health. Some clinics may offer food pantries to help those who are food insecure. While others offer job counseling and mental health support.
By treating patients beyond the exam room, clinics make a meaningful impact in people’s lives and help them achieve better outcomes. This is one way that free clinics are helping to address health disparities in communities across Virginia. Visit our Healthier You page to learn more about this holistic approach to health.
COMMUNITY-BASED, AFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE FOR THOSE IN NEED
Free and charitable clinics are community-based, emerging to fill healthcare gaps in communities. This adaptability of clinics to modify their community-based clinical services to meet the unique, community-specific needs of diverse localities results in great diversity from clinic to clinic. However, each one is committed to the primary mission of providing health care services to individuals in Virginia who have limited income and are uninsured or underinsured.
Clinics offer services at no cost to patients suffering economic hardship. Patients who can afford to invest in their own health and wellbeing are asked to make a nominal contribution towards their care. In this way, clinics are an affordable option for those who lack insurance.
While they vary for each clinic, here’s a range of the types of services clinics provide:
PRIMARY CARE
Treating all aspects of a patient’s health, including care for acute and chronic illnesses, disease care and prevention, health counseling, testing, and more.
CHRONIC CARE
Helping patients manage and stay one step ahead of long-term illnesses or conditions. For example, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and asthma, among others.
SPECIALTY CARE
Offering patients access to advanced medical treatment from providers who specialize in specific health conditions or practice areas. These may include cancer specialists, cardiologists, skin experts, and more.
DENTAL CARE
54% of Virginia’s free clinics have on-site dental services for routine cleanings as well as more complex dental work such as crowns or root canals.
PHARMACEUTICAL CARE
96% of Virginia’s free clinics offer pharmacy services – where medicines are often donated by pharmaceutical manufacturers. Our clinics work to get patients the prescription drugs they need.
VISION HEALTH
A number of our clinics offer patients access to routine eye exams as well as frames, lenses, contact lenses, and other vision correction procedures.
WOMEN’S HEALTH
Virginia’s free and charitable clinics also focus on the unique physical and emotional needs of women of all ages, including issues related to pregnancy and family planning, menopause, and more.
MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
Clinics across Virginia provide mental health support with licensed counselors and psychiatrists. This helps patients get the ongoing social/emotional support and prescription drug coverage they need.
HEALTH EDUCATION
Virginia’s free and charitable clinics encourage prevention to help patients remain healthy, reduce unnecessary visits to the emergency room, and avoid missed time from work due to illness.
PATIENT NAVIGATION
Virginia’s free and charitable clinics provide wrap-around services that address wellness. Those include helping to provide access to a food pantry, clothes closet, and transportation.
*Note each clinic across the state offers a different array of services and not all clinics offer each of the services listed above. Visit a specific clinic’s website to learn more about their exact service offering.
Virginia Association of Free & Charitable Clinics
1801 Libbie Avenue, Suite 104, Richmond, VA 23226
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