Meridian Star
Free Clinic set to expand due to grant
By Glenda Sanders
The Free Clinic of Meridian will be able to see more patients and offer more enhanced care after an expansion to its building now underway is completed.
Located at 4707 Poplar Springs Drive, The Free Clinic of Meridian currently serves more than 1,250 uninsured adults in east Mississippi and west Alabama. The operation of the clinic is totally supported by private grants and individual donations.
The clinic, however, has received a federal Congressionally Directed Spending grant, totaling more than $310,000, to fund the expansion, which includes building two exam rooms, a multipurpose room, office and storage space, said board member Brenda Hiatt.
Through Congressionally Directed Spending grants, members of Congress are able to request federal funds be set aside for specific projects in their states.
Hiatt said three members of Mississippi’s congressional delegation, U.S. Rep. Michael Guest, Sen. Roger Wicker and Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, were instrumental in helping The Free Clinic secure the grant.
“The Free Clinic of Meridian helps ensure patients in east Mississippi receive access to quality health care, and through the partnership of local hospitals and other expert health care providers, it is a true community effort,” Guest said.
Said Hyde-Smith, who serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, “The demands on local health care providers continue to increase. This infusion of federal funding will allow the Free Clinic to increase its ability to serve people in the Meridian area.”
Wicker said the clinic’s volunteer medical professionals represent the best of Mississippi’s charitable tradition.
“They offer their time and skills to those who need health care, and this funding will help expand their facilities to serve even more people,” he said.
The federal funds will go strictly for the expansion and will not be used for the operation of the clinic, Hiatt said.
The expansion will increase the number of exam rooms from four to six, which will allow the clinic to see more patients. One of the exam rooms also will be a procedure room, so the clinic can perform minor procedures, she said. The multipurpose room can also be used for physical therapy and mental health counseling.
Hiatt said the work on the building is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
The Free Clinic, which opened in 2015, offers free primary medical care, health care education and medical assistance for uninsured adults in Lauderdale and the six surrounding counties in Mississippi and Alabama. Patients must be ineligible for Medicaid or Medicare and earn 200% or less of the federal poverty level.
Medical care is provided by residents from EC Healthnet’s Rural Family Medicine Residency Program, as well as volunteer physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners. They are supported by volunteer nurses, medical assistants and administrative personnel, as well as student nurses from Meridian Community College and students enrolled in Mississippi State University-Meridian’s Physician Assistant Studies program.
“Patients who come through our doors generally have chronic conditions that have gone untreated for years,” said Executive Director Stephanie Woodall. “It is such a joy to watch them become healthier with just basic, consistent care.”
For example, one patient who had diabetes had been laid off from his job as a truck driver after his untreated illness left him unable to work. After a few months of consistent care at the clinic, he was able to return to work, she said.
The majority of the Free Clinic’s patients have chronic illnesses, which, left untreated, can affect local hospitals.
“The Free Clinic has played a major role in our community by helping fill a gap that needed to be filled for so many people, and Ochsner Rush is proud to have been a partner with the clinic from the beginning,” said Larkin Kennedy, CEO of Ochsner Rush Health.
John Anderson, CEO of Anderson Regional Health System, another supporter of the clinic since the beginning, said the clinic has been a tremendous asset to the community and the expansion will also benefit local emergency rooms.
“This expansion will enable more chronic disease patients to receive treatment in the appropriate setting, which in turn increases the emergency room’s capacity for urgent and critical patient needs,” Anderson said.
The Free Clinic of Meridian is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. until noon and 1-4 p.m. Patient and volunteer applications are available on the website at freeclinicofmeridian.com or by calling the clinic at 601-917-5551.