116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Free clinics fill a gap in local health care
Oct. 26, 2017 6:00 am, Updated: Aug. 18, 2021 9:23 am
The Affordable Care Act extended health care coverage to about 200,000 Iowans, but gaps still persist. The cost of pharmaceutical drugs is soaring, insurance premiums are going up while deductibles keep getting higher.
There are real people falling through those cracks — people who can't afford their insulin to manage their diabetes or their co-pays to go to the dentist; people who earn too much to be on Medicaid but struggle to pay their bills and let their health fall by the wayside.
So places such as Community Health Free Clinic and His Hands Free Clinic in Cedar Rapids work relentlessly to patch up those holes. They bring in volunteer physicians and dentists, get medications donated and build community partnerships. They help sign up people for insurance and navigate a complex health care system.
But most important, they meet patients where they are and provide emotional support during difficult times.
Stethoscopes hang in the hallway at His Hands Free Clinic on Wednesday, May 10, 2017. The clinic depends largely on volunteers and donations in order to provide the free services it offers to the community. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)
Bonnie Sawyer of Marion reacts as a physician assistant asks her how long she has been without insulin for her diabetes and informs her that the clinic can help her fill her prescriptions at no cost during her appointment at the Community Health Free Clinic in Cedar Rapids on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017. Sawyer lost her Medicaid coverage on March 1. Sawyer is a longtime special education paraeducator at Franklin Middle School in Cedar Rapids. She says struggles to make ends meet, especially during the summer when she has to find part-time seasonal work to get by until her fall contract begins. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)
Physician assistants and nurses fill out paperwork at a nurse's station at the Community Health Free Clinic in Cedar Rapids on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017. The clinic, which offers free health care to community members, has seen a dramatic drop in the number of people seen since the Affordable Care Act made it possible for more people to sign up for insurance. In 2013, the clinic became an ACA Certified Application Counselor Organization. Each incoming patient is interviewed and, if they lack insurance, is paired with a health care navigator who helps them sign up through the Healthcare.gov Marketplace or the Department of Human Services portals. Darlene Schmidt, the clinic's CEO, says they sign up community members at a rate of one hundred per month. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)
Joyce Vick, a registered nurse, hands a box of diabetes test strips to Bonnie Sawyer of Marion at the Community Health Free Clinic in Cedar Rapids on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017. Vick is one of a few staff members at the free clinic and says she loves her work there, where she feels she is making a difference. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)
Dr. Jerome Janda talks with a nurse in the pharmacy about a patient prescription at His Hands Free Clinic in Cedar Rapids on Wednesday, May 10, 2017. His Hands, a free clinic supported by various churches in Cedar Rapids, stocks their pharmacy largely through donations from local medical providers, pharmaceutical companies and charities that route surplus drugs to services that need them. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)
Shelli Marin, dental coordinator and hygienist, talks with Steve Black Wolf of Cedar Rapids after taking X-rays of his teeth in the dental center at His Hands Free Clinic on Wednesday, May 10, 2017. Free clinics provide a broad range of services to people who lack insurance, often relying on a network of medical providers throughout the community to help patients with more complex problems. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)
Samuel Asamoah of Cedar Rapids prays with CJ Zachariasen, a prayer support provider, before his appointment at His Hands Free Clinic on Wednesday, May 10, 2017. Prayer support providers offer to pray with patients after their initial intake session with a nurse and before they see a doctor at the clinic. Like the Community Free Health Clinic, His Hands seeks to provide emotional support in addition to their medical services. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)
Lori Phillips (left) a physician assistant, checks for odor associated with illness as Bonnie Sawyer, 56, of Marion breathes on her face at the Community Health Free Clinic in Cedar Rapids on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017. Sawyer came to the clinic for leg pain, but told Phillips that she had gone several months without an insulin prescription for her diabetes after she was deemed ineligible to receive Medicaid coverage because of her income. She hasn't been able to afford insurance through the health care marketplace. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)
Diana Cira, a volunteer and registered nurse, comforts Bonnie Sawyer of Marion as they go over Sawyer's health history before her appointment at the Community Health Free Clinic in Cedar Rapids on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017. Sawyer lost her Medicaid coverage on March 1 and has been living without her insulin prescription to manage her diabetes. She was hesitant to come to the free clinic because she had heard rumors that it was closed, and that it would take months to see a doctor. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)
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