Nancy Franks, the President of Volunteers in Medicine of Chattanooga, spoke this morning at the Downtown Branch of the Chattanooga Chamber. This is a free clinic that provided qualty health care for qualified persons in Hamilton County.

Mrs Franks spoke about the medical crisis in the US where 1 out of 7 people do not have health care. The clinic has been opened for over three years and has treated over 3500 patients. It currently has 900 active patients.

The clinic uses volunteer medical services and assistance to provide top qualify, primary care for Hamilton County residents who do not have insurance and who make less than 200% of the federal poverty level income. For a single person this is $20,800 annually.

The first VIM was started by Dr Jack McConnell, a Hamilton County native who retired to Hilton Head SC. Dr Jack, in his retirement, recognized the lack of medical care that many people living in poverty suffered. He asked himself "Why?" And he could not ignore the problem. The first volunteer clinic opened in 1992 in Hilton Head.

There are 66 VIM clinics in the US. Since it has opened, the Chattanooga clinic has provided the equivalent of $13 million of treatment (using emergency room rates). The actual cost has been approximately $1 million. This cost savings is brought about by the power of volunteerism and the culture of care in the volunteer clinic.

 The medical director is Dr Robert Bowers, MD FACS. He is a past president of the Hamilton County Medical Society and was named the Physician of the Year in Tennessee in April 2005.

The clinic provides a full range of primary and preventitive care. The clinic assists patients to obtain advanced treatment when needed. There are many opportunities to volunteer .

Here is a patient brochure.

The website also has a terrific video to describe the extent of the problems caused by the lack of health care.

The phone number for the clinic is 423-855-8220.

The VIM clinic is one of two free clinics serving Hamilton County. The Chattanooga Community Kitchen offers free medical services to homeless persons. 

Richard Smith
American Acceptance Mortgage, Inc
Toll Free 888-474-9920 Cell 423-280-0345
Home financing in Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama.
Experience matters when it is your home loan.

FHA, VA, Rural Development, Reverse Mortgages, Construction Permanent, Renovation, FHA Renovation
Mortgage lending offices located in Chattanooga, TN
rsmith@aamonline.com

Join me on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter