How to Start a Free Health Clinic
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2007, 45.7 million Americans were uninsured. As company benefits shrink and individual insurance plans become increasingly more expensive and harder to obtain, starting a free health clinic can help so many people in your community. Even if your clinic only operates one day per week, you'll be providing important preventive care, and peace of mind, to patients of all ages.
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Things You'll Need
- Team of consultants and volunteer doctors
- Grants or private donations
- 501(3)c nonprofit status
- Donated or rented space
- Proper insurance
- Donated or purchased medical supplies and equipment
Instructions
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Determine your constituency, as this will affect the decisions you make in all other steps. In general, you'll be serving the uninsured; however, this tells you little about the specific needs of your patients. The types of illnesses you'll be encountering will determine what medicines and supplies you stock, and your patient demographics may affect staffing decisions (e.g., you may need bilingual staff members). For demographic information on the uninsured in your area, contact your local and state health departments, local social services, area hospitals and other clinics.
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Assemble a team. You'll need an accountant, an insurance specialist, at least one lawyer (you may need to consult several along the way to handle specific negotiations), a fundraising specialist, an office staff, and volunteer doctors and nurses. Your accountant should have experience with nonprofit organizations, as you will need to create a 501(3)c organization for tax purposes. You'll need insurance to cover a fire, flood or other mishap, as well as malpractice insurance.
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Scout a location. Often, an affiliation with a hospital, business or other organization will help tremendously. For example, if you partner with a local hospital it may have onsite space for your clinic (as well as a program already in place to encourage doctors and nurses to volunteer). Otherwise, you'll need to rent a commercial property. Make sure your location has several restrooms, a locked storage area for patient's files, a space that can serve as a waiting room, and spaces for private exam rooms. Also, make sure the building has the appropriate ramps and curb cuts to be accessible to disabled people.
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Seek donations of medical supplies and office equipment. Contact local hospitals, private doctors (target those who are retiring), and other clinics to see what they can pitch in. You'll need exam tables, lamps, scales, blood pressure gauges, medical-waste containers, and much more. Contact local office-supply and furniture stores to see if they can help outfit the clinic with chairs, desks, and filing cabinets. Be sure to explain to prospective donors that they will most likely be able to deduct the expense on their taxes.
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Figure out how you will get pharmaceutical drugs for your patients. You can get free samples from local hospitals and doctors' offices. You can set up a contract with a local pharmacy to have all prescriptions billed to your clinic. Your patients will need to understand that they can only go to that particular pharmacy for prescriptions.
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Secure funding. According to "Starting a Free Health Clinic" (see References), the baseline cost of operating a health clinic one day per week is $1,000 to $5,000 per year. The cost of your clinic, however, will depend on the number of patients served and prescriptions filled, as well as test costs, insurance expenses and property-rental fees. It's ideal to have a staff of volunteers to keep costs low. Approach local hospitals and local and national foundations for grants; seek additional contributions from local businesses and private donors. Organizing a few simple fundraising events (picnics, concerts, etc.) may help get the attention of potential donors while advertising the clinic to the community you wish to serve.
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Tips & Warnings
Make contact with local journalists who cover community health issues. They may have insight on the uninsured and could be instrumental in spreading information about your clinic to the community. Read the Census Bureau's information on the uninsured (see References). Local schools are great sources for volunteers. Cast a wide net: Social-work and medical students are the most obvious candidates, but English and journalism majors could help write grant proposals and informational pamphlets, IT students could set up the clinic's computer system, and trade-school students could help with construction.
Free clinics are not exempt from medical malpractice suits. Consult a lawyer who specializes in these suits to ensure you have the proper insurance and safeguards in place before the clinic opens.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Stockxpert
