Free Medical Care for the Uninsured Homeless, Poor/COVID-19 Era https://grants.dudleytdoughertyfoundation.org/proposals-2020/free-medical-care-for-the-uninsured-homeless-poor-covid-19-era https://grants.dudleytdoughertyfoundation.org/@@site-logo/sitelogo-75x75.png

Free Medical Care for the Uninsured Homeless, Poor/COVID-19 Era

Additional Information
Used for	Funds will be used to provide free, primary medical care at Dr. James Gabbard Memorial Health Clinic for residents of our homeless shelters for men, women, and children as well as other homeless, poor, uninsured, and underinsured in South Texas. Services will include routine and emergent medical exams, dental work referrals, eye exams, eye glasses, OB/GYN exams, diabetes education, and medication. Staff ensures that patients have access to available public health benefits, including referrals for COVID-19 testing and treatment, and strive to connect them with a more permanent medical home.
Benefits	People who have no other choice for medical care other than hospital emergency departments will have access to ongoing medical care at no cost to them. This will prevent and treat diseases that otherwise would lead to poor health, lost work days, missed school, pain and suffering, and, in extreme cases, loss of life. By keeping our patients out of hospital emergency departments, we are reducing costs that would otherwise be passed on to the community in higher health insurance rates and higher indigent care taxes while freeing resources needed to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Proposal Description	The Dr. James Gabbard Memorial Health Clinic is a free clinic dedicated to providing primary medical care to Rustic House and Rainbow House shelter residents (two of our five interrelated programs), the homeless, the poor, the uninsured, and the underinsured in our target area. Clinic services include routine and non-emergent medical exams, dental work referrals, eye exams, eye glasses, referrals for OB/GYN exams, hypertension and diabetes education, prescription medications, and medication assistance. Since 1989, the clinic has been staffed by volunteer doctors, pharmacists, ophthalmologists, and nurses from the community. Other non-profit social service agencies and local school districts with no access to medical care for clients and/or students refer people to us. Our staff and volunteers ensure that patients have access to available public health benefits and strive to connect them with a more permanent medical home. Each year, we provide more than 3,500 medical services to more than 900 individual patients at no cost to our clients. We do this through the generous support of individuals, foundations, and charitable companies such the Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation. The South Texas area is making ending homelessness a top priority, and Corpus Christi Metro Ministries plans to continue to play a key role in this effort. By keeping our patients healthy, we are keeping them out of hospital emergency departments and beds, freeing healthcare resources needed to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.