FREE CLINIC
is an important source to good health to those in Rockbridge County with low incomes and no health insurance.
in Providing Much Needed health care!
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MAINTAINING OPERATIONS
Goal: Funds for Operating Budget for FY 2011 - $650,000
Patient Care
* The number of low-income people without health insurance continues to grow and the cost of providing medical care continues to rise. Since 1992, the Rockbridge Area Free Clinic has been providing this much needed care. The Clinic has been able to manage patients with complex medical problems because it utilizes the help of volunteer health care providers. It has obtained additional diagnostic testing capabilities, and has expanded its ability to obtain costly but vital medications. This kind of coordinated care requires intensive case management and well trained volunteers and staff. The costs associated with this kind of care continue to grow.
* The role that the Free Clinic plays in providing disadvantaged and low-income persons with health care, dental services and vital prescription medications is invaluable. The RAFC covers a service area of over 34,000 persons of which approximately 15% are believed to be medically uninsured. The Free Clinic provides basic health services to low-income workers who cannot qualify or can't afford health insurance, the disabled and the elderly. The Free Clinic endeavors to keep people healthy and retain them in the working, tax-paying population.
The priority need areas of the RAFC are:
o Adequate primary care hours
o Dental services
o Patient outreach
* The RAFC faces several barriers when it comes to addressing these needs. Examples of the barriers that the clinic currently face include:
o Increasing health care delivery costs;
o Increases in the number of uninsured and especially the underinsured;
o A rise in the number of minority, especially non-English speaking, patients;
o Increasing competition for charitable contributions
Economic Realities
* Rockbridge Area Free Clinic is the only clinic in Rockbridge Area County that provides free primary and specialty medical care, including diagnostic testing and medications, to the county's low-income, uninsured residents.
* There is no government program that provides medical care to the working poor between 19 and 65 years of age, unless a person has specific needs, i.e., pregnancy, or is disabled.
* Everyone benefits from access to quality health care. Unpaid medical bill are passed on to the insured population in the form of higher health care premiums. The programs at the Free Clinic reduce the cost of care for the uninsured by focusing on preventive care and addressing health care needs before they become health care emergencies.
* In FY 2010, 10% of the Clinic's income came from United Way.
Create an Endowment for Operational Expenses.
* To continue to provide quality health care to the uninsured of Rockbridge Area, it is imperative that Rockbridge Area Free Clinic plans for the financial future of the organization. Income from foundation grants, annual giving from individuals, special events, civic associations and churches, and United Way, has covered our operational expenses to date as well as generated a small reserve fund for emergencies.
* RAFC faces financial pressure to raise increasing amounts of money to meet rising costs of operation. Rockbridge Area Free Clinic seeks to establish an endowment fund to generate income for operating expenses. A healthy Endowment Fund will relieve some of the ongoing pressure to raise funds and will provide more financial security for the organization.