As of 2004, about 12 percent of
Ohio adults — just more than 1 million — did not have health
insurance of any kind. In Athens County about 16.9 percent of adults
were uninsured, and in Meigs County, the number was 15.6 percent.
But in May 2006, Community Health Programs (CHP) at Ohio University
College of Osteopathic Medicine began offering free health-care
services to the uninsured of Southeastern Ohio through its Free
Clinical Services program, known simply as the Free Clinic, which
has operated Thursday of each week in Stewart, Ohio.
This Monday, Jan. 8, the Free
Clinic expands its services to Athens. The Free Clinic, which
provides free primary care medical services and referrals for the
uninsured, will be open from 8 to 11:30 a.m. in Parks Hall, 2nd
floor, located on the West Green of the Ohio University campus. The
Jan. 8 clinic will be the first of planned twice-a-month clinics.
The next clinics will be held Jan. 29, Feb. 5 and Feb. 19. The Free
Clinic is sponsored by Ohio University College of Osteopathic
Medicine’s Community Health Programs (CHP).
“The Free Clinic provides cost-free
health-care services, including screenings, episodic care and
prevention, and health education,” says Melanie Moynan-Smith,
CHP certified nurse practitioner.
“So many times I see women at
breast and cervical cancer clinics who have no health insurance or
have no primary care physicians. The Free Clinic is a way of
establishing a medical home for patients and providing cost-free
clinical services for men and women. It’s a greatly needed service;
we know people will greatly benefit from it.”
Those eligible for the clinic must
be residents of Athens or Meigs County, 18 to 64 years old with no
medical insurance and having, for a family of one, a gross annual
income of no more than $14,700. For each additional family member,
families are allowed an additional $5,100 in gross annual income.
“We are just delighted to begin
this service in the city of Athens,” says Kathy Trace,
director of CHP. “The Free Clinic is part of our effort to serve the
medical needs of the most underserved — the uninsured — members of
Athens and Meigs counties.
“Although we’re starting with only
two half-day clinics monthly in Athens, we will be reviewing the
need and increasing clinics as necessary.
“The Free Clinic also
is a collaborative opportunity for other areas of the university,
such as nursing, psychology, social work, health administration and
community health. These are services and service opportunities from
which the uninsured of Southeastern Ohio would greatly benefit. Ohio
University students who work in these areas are able to contribute
as well as learn as part of their educational experiences.”
For more information, or to make an
appointment at the Free Clinic, please call (800) 844-2654 or (740)
593-2432.
