Free Clinic Opens in Clinton County

Keith Holten, MD, Director of our affiliated Clinton County Memorial Hospital residency program, spearheaded the development of a free clinic for low income uninsured patients in Clinton County. He currently serves as Secretary/Treasurer of the clinic’s board and is the Medical Advisor.
 
The clinic, which opened in December of 2004, is staffed by thirteen volunteer physicians, including family physicians and other specialists.  Department faculty volunteering at the clinic include Drs. Holten, Gick, Bain, Friemoth, Wetherington, and Holderman.
 
In addition to the physicians, nurses and other health care personnel are donating their time, and every effort is being made to have a bilingual person who can speak Spanish at each clinic session to translate as needed for Latino patients.
 
The Mission of the Free Clinic is to be: “a primary care access point for uninsured Clinton County residents. We will provide high quality services in a safe, comfortable, caring environment. We will fill unmet medical needs and link our patients to other community resources whenever possible”. 
 
Services offered include acute care, chronic care, testing, physicals and check-ups, medication dispensing, and help applying for other assistance programs. The medication is available either free or at reduced cost.
 
It is estimated that there are 4,000 uninsured persons in Clinton County.  Most of these individuals are employed, but in jobs without benefits.