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Providing healing and hope to the working poor |
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Newsletter for |
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OUR UNSUNG HEROES Another group of Free Clinic volunteers, who often go unrecognized, are the loyal Physicians in the Central Virginia area, who have agreed to see a number of our patients in their offices and/or facilities. Included in this group are such notables as Dr. Ronald Hill - Surgery Associates; Dr. Janet Hickman-Dermatology; Dr. Remo Lotano, Dr. Darin Bowers, Dr. Robert Vogel, Dr. Gail Ganser, and Dr. Elizenda Ceballos-Piedmont Eye Center; Dr. Sydnor, Dr. H. C. Eschenroeder, Dr. Gautham Gondi, Dr. John Barnard, Dr. Drew Kiernan, and Dr. Jesse Stem- Central Virginia Orthopaedics; Dr. Dar, Dr. Ehtesham, Dr. Giles, Dr. Lockridge, and Dr. Moffatt-Nephrology and Internal Medicine; and ALL the physicians from Cardiology Associates. WE THANK YOU! In the dental arena, three oral surgeons offer referral services in their offices: Dr. Raymond Baker, Dr. Ronald Todd and Dr. Will Carvajal. Many of the volunteer dentist mentors/professors offer services in their private offices, which cannot be successfully accomplished at the clinic: Dr. John Howard, Dr. David Kiger, Dr. Gus Petticolas, Dr. Sherman Smock, and Dr. David Polk to name a few major providers. WE THANK YOU! The Free Clinic staff also refers patients to special programs and services offered by the Lynchburg Health Department, Centra Health and Radiology Consultants They accept referrals from the Free Clinic for extensive and/or expensive testing that cannot be completed at the clinic. In fact, these services amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. WE THANK YOU! |
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SUCCESSFUL SUMMER FUNDRAISERS Over the summer months, the Free Clinic staff members, Board of Directors, and friends have been actively raising general operating budget funds through fundraising projects. The first effort in late May was Friday Cheers sponsored by Lynch's Landing. By serving as volunteers for this event, the clinic was able to raise $1055.00. On July 20, the 10th Annual LAIFA (Lynchburg Area Investment & Financial Advisors) Golf Tournament was held at Poplar Grove in Amherst. The Free Clinic was the beneficiary of this event for the second straight year, and it earned $2,500.00 for the budget. On August 24, the highly popular Hillcats "Skybox" Night was held at Calvin Falwell Field at City Stadium. The grand total raised is expected to top $3,600! This approximate total of $7,000 from summer fundraisers will enable us to provide $56,000 worth of medical, dental, and pharmaceutical services in 2005. This is possible to the 450 unpaid free clinic volunteers (almost 200 physicians, 50 dentists, 30 pharmacists/pharmacy technicians, 30 medical providers such as nurses, medical assistants, and lab technicians, and over 100 lay persons) as well as a large amount of "in kind" gifts (pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, dental supplies, and office supplies), which provide significant "funding" resources for the clinic. |
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DENTAL PROGRAM CONTINUES TO BE MAXIMIZED The daytime dental program and evening
clinic continue to serve record numbers of clients. The daytime program is
in cooperation with dental externs from the V.C.U. School of Dentistry and
their mentors/professors, who are licensed dentists here in Central
Virginia. In the daytime, we have appointments for dental exams, dental
hygiene, restorations (fillings), and extractions. The evening program,
which is primarily for extractions, uses volunteer dentists and dental
assistants from the Community. (See complete listing of these volunteers The Free Clinic has surpassed its numeric goals in FY 2003-2004 and FY 2004-2005. Both years, the programs have operated at FULL capacity. Currently, the Executive Director and Board of the Free Clinic are working to secure funding to expand the number of dental operatories ("chairs") from 3 to 6 some time in mid to late 2006. If accomplished, the Free Clinic will be able to double its dental visits from over 2,000 per year to over 4,000 per year. A total of 968 different persons were seen for dental services in FY 2004-2005. A detailed chart showing dental statistics in 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 is also available by clicking HERE. |
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ANTHEM PROVIDES GRANTS Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Virginia has announced a Special $20,000 Grant to the Free Clinic of Central Virginia to support the continuation of the clinic's Breast Health Program. This funding will be utilized to pay for free mammograms for Free Clinic patients as well as the support services of an RN/Breast Health Educator, support services of a Nurse Practitioner, and outreach programs in the community. This is the second special grant for $20,000 received in the past three years. Anthem also provides an annual $10,000 general operating grant to this Free Clinic and about 30 others in the Commonwealth of Virginia. |
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CARDINAL HEALTH MEDICATION CREDIT
Thanks to the fabulous work of Yolonda Johnson, Pharmacy Coordinator, Rebecca Rogers, part-time Pharmacy Technician, and many volunteers, we have been advised by Cardinal Health, our medication wholesaler, that they have credited our account with an amount of $9,144 for returned, unused medications. This credit along with credits from drug companies themselves have allowed the Free Clinic to earn over $11,000 since January 2005, which will be used to purchase new medications for patients. In effect, this credit is equivalent to a large grant to support aspects of the general operating budget. |
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THRIVENT FINANCIAL FOR LUTHERANS AWARDS GRANT The Free Clinic of Central Virginia, Inc. has been awarded $800.00 from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans-Piedmont Chapter. The proceeds from this grant will be used to fund the cost of medicines/ pharmaceuticals for Free Clinic patients. |
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RETAIL MERCHANTS GRANT The Retail Merchants Association recently presented MedsHelp at the Free Clinic with a check for $1,000. Roland Peters, Executive Director, indicated that the Board of Directors was impressed by MedsHelp "good work". The support will be used for the general operating budget. |
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STAFF RECOGNITION Yolonda Johnson, CPhT, RPhT rejoined the Free Clinic staff in late 2003. She had previously worked at the Free Clinic from 1998-1999 as the Pharmacy Coordinator. Her one and half years back have resulted in tremendous growth in the pharmaceutical program. The number of prescriptions filled per year has risen from 10,000 in 2002 to over 25,000 in 2004. The MedsHelp Program merged into the Free Clinic in October 2004; Yolonda was promoted to oversee the operations for this program. Yolonda and her daughters, Chrishonda and Christal, live in Lynchburg. |
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MEDSHELP PROGRAM "UPDATE" The "MedsHelp at the Free
Clinic" Program has continued to "grow" over the past six
months. It now has the capability to accept any new patient who meets A major grant application, which is designed to increase the number of MedsHelp participants by opening satellite enrollment centers in the surrounding counties, has been submitted to the Virginia Health Care Foundation (VHCF). If this initiative is funded, it is believed that hundreds of new patients could be added to the roles of the program. Finally, the change in the Medicare law beginning in January 2006 may have a major effect on the MedsHelp Program as well as other prescription assistance programs. The actual effect on the MedsHelp Program participation is not fully known at this time. The staff is busily educating all current participants regarding this "upcoming" change. |
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FALL INTERNS ARRIVE One of the exciting things in September is the return or arrival of our student interns. They help us in many capacities with many hours of voluntary service. They bring a freshness and enthusiasm to their work at the Free Clinic that is often contagious. Returning for a third year is Heather Benson, a senior at Randolph-Macon Woman's College from Fredricksburg. She will be joined this year by a first year RMWC student, Jessica Murdoch, from Texas. Three senior nursing students have started rotations with us. They are: Irasema Sedillo, Liberty University (Mondays), Elisabeth Shergill, Liberty University (Tuesday and Thursday evenings), and Jennifer Willis, Lynchburg College community nursing student (Tuesdays and Thursdays). Two Pharmacy Technician students from Lynchburg have already started their fall commitments to us. They are Eniro Croner from National Business College and LaToya Hunt from Miller Motte. Welcome and we hope their experience with us will be invaluable to their education and lives. |
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DAY IN THE PARK Under the able leadership of Abigail Haney, Chair of the Free Clinic Board of Directors, (with her husband Chuck) the "Outreach Team" ventured out to Day in the Park in Miller Park (Lynchburg) on Saturday September 10. The team shared information about the Free Clinic with hundreds of persons who stopped by their booth. They offered free blood pressure readings and glucose tests to over 100 persons. The results were shared with the patients, and some received recommendations to see their private provider or visit the clinic. This volunteer team included: Eileen Brennan, RN; Ella Cashwell, Medical Assistant and Free Clinic Staff; Alexcia Linthicum, front office staff; Shantae Austin, LPN student; nurse practitioners: Tracey Langebeck and her husband; Debbie Erickson; and Allison Brooks. Board members Mark Johnson and Bob Crowder helped move equipment and supplies. The Free Clinic sponsors 10-12 outreach events per calendar year. THANKS to everyone who helped us with this successful outreach program. |
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ITEMS NEEDED The following items/tasks could help us tremendously! Do you have and wish to donate the following items or perform the following tasks: Industrial Vacuum Cleaner |
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PLEASE HELP The Free Clinic Needs Your Financial
Gifts. |
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