Starting a free clinic program can be an exciting and a challenging endeavor. Local communities have come up with health programs to provide affordable health services to the uninsured residents. One way to achieve that is to establish a free clinic program. A group of volunteers, a non-governmental organization, or a business organization as part of its social corporate responsibility strategy to reach out and assist the local community (Darnell, 2008) can initiate the free clinic program. There are several free clinic programs across the nation offering medical services to the uninsured and the underprivileged in the society. Most of the programs depend on the generosity of the members of the community since most of them have very few staff members. The paper provides a description of the process or steps and benefits of the free clinic program for the public.
Starting a free clinic program involves a number of decisions, processes or considerations. Before embarking on the activity, it is advisable to assess the need to establish the free clinic in the area. The process involves conducting a consultation exercise among the representatives of the community such as social workers, neighborhood associations, health care workers, school nurses and even the clergy. Similarly, the local community should be made aware of the program (Harris, 2010). This can be done by making the meeting known to the public through bulletin boards, local radio stations and any other form of media available for the local community people. The second step involves conducting a meeting with the uninsured employees to discuss the indications of the upcoming free clinic program. The management should identify the expected number of employees who will be part of the program and establish the eligible requirements for all the employees. The management should also embark in a process of identifying the type of medical services the employees will need or will be offered. Such medical services include treatment of some particular ailments, primary and prenatal care, health education, and vaccinations. The employees to take part in the program should be sensitized on the mission of the program and the benefits of the enrolling into the program should be explained to them (Darnell, 2008).
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The free clinic program will benefit the public in a number of ways. First, the program will enable the uninsured, and the underserved people to easily access health services hence improving public health. Such people will get the opportunity to lead a healthy life without any concern of incurring many costs to acquire insurance and getting treatment in non-free health centers. The uninsured people will not be overstretched financially (Brennan, 2013). They will channel the spared resources to other areas of improving the lives.
Secondly, the free clinic program will provide a broader coverage for health insurance. The clinics will help the uninsured people to enroll in CHIP, Medicaid, and other health assistance programs available. Assisting the uninsured to acquire such health insurance will help the people to access low cost health centers to get health services. Similarly, this will enable people to seek health assistance without any obstacles hence the lives of the people will be improved around the country, which will in turn reduce the number of death rates in the country (Harris, 2010). Healthy lifestyles will enable people to be productive by having a peace of mind in their bodies, which will in turn improve their performance at work. They will also feel to be part of the large society.
The access to various vaccines provided by free health clinic programs will help in preventing diseases that are prone among human beings. This will in turn reduce the costs associated with treating such diseases. Preventing is always better than cure, therefore, the public will be productive and engage in other development activities rather than spending a lot of time treating such ailments or caring for the patients. The clinic will provide an available and accessible health center to acquire vaccine services without travelling to a distant hospital to acquire such services (Brennan, 2013).
The free clinic program will benefit the public by providing free health advisory services such as prenatal advice, dental hygiene, healthy eating lifestyle, and even provide information diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart related issues (Harris, 2010). The public will get such information easily and more information regarding the specialized health centers they should visit in case they need more concrete information about such ailments. Furthermore, advisory in healthy eating habits will enable the public to understand the need to avoid some foods, which are detrimental to our bodies (Darnell, 2008). Acquiring healthy living information will help people to be aware of what they should consume and what they should avoid.
Briefly, the paper has provided a discussion on the process or steps and the benefits of the free clinic program for the public. The establishment of a free clinic program will enhance the provision of healthy to the people in the community. Similarly, the program will enable them access free medical services without being concerned of the costs of treatment. In return, the public will be able to lead a healthy lifestyle. Therefore, the establishment of a free clinic is a noble idea that should be supported by all the concerned stakeholders in the community.
