Stamford-based nonprofit AmeriCares is opening a free clinic in Stamford to serve thousands of low-income residents without health insurance.
When it debuts this fall, the AmeriCares clinic will be the only free clinic in Stamford, where 20 percent of the population is uninsured. The clinic will begin aboard a specially outfitted mobile unit and then transition to a permanent location.
AmeriCares reports Stamford Hospital has the second highest rate of uncompensated care in the state.
“Thousands of Stamford residents who rely on emergency rooms to manage chronic health conditions will now have a better alternative ”“ a medical home,” AmeriCares President and CEO Curt Welling said. “The hospital will be able to focus on true emergencies, and the uninsured will have the medical services they need to avoid preventable hospitalizations. The entire community will benefit.”
AmeriCares, a nonprofit global health and disaster relief organization, Â is launching the Stamford clinic in partnership with Stamford Hospital and Quest Diagnostics. Stamford Hospital will offer a full range of diagnostic services including X-rays, CT scans and MRIs; Quest Diagnostics will provide free laboratory work for patients. The clinic has received core funding commitments from the OdysseyRe Foundation, Building and Land Technology, Purdue Pharma and two anonymous donors.
“We are proud to partner with AmeriCares to expand the clinic services available in our community,” said Stamford Hospital President and CEO Brian G. Grissler. “Our commitment has always been to provide quality, patient-centered care to all people, regardless of their ability to pay. The new free clinic will help make care even more accessible for those in need, particularly the uninsured.”
The AmeriCares Free Clinics in Norwalk, Bridgeport and Danbury, and affiliated partners provide $6.2 million in free, quality health care to 3,000 Fairfield County residents annually. With the addition of the Stamford clinic, AmeriCares expects to increase the number of patient visits to 11,200 annually. The expansion will offer an additional $750,000 in free medical services in its first year of operation, and aims to ultimately benefit thousands of area residents by providing access to primary care services that can help prevent health problems or reduce complications for existing conditions.
