2008 GFCN Annual Conference
Free Clinic Network Conference a Success
2008 Conference Materials |
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Why You Do ... What You Do A Philanthropic Perspective Branding Your Clinic — The Marketing/Fundraising Connection LeaderSpeak Building Agency Champions
Recommendations for Free Market Solutions to Insure All Georgians for Healthcare Specialty Care Access Mental Healthcare in a Clinical Setting Keys to Media Relations Success Unite and Join Forces!Free Clinics, Advocacy and Public Policy |
Much thanks to all the attendees, speakers and sponsors. It wouldn't have happened without you!
Dozens of clinic administrators, medical personnel and volunteers who staff the charity clinics that comprise the Georgia Free Clinic Network met in Atlanta Feb. 10-12, to strategize how to improve and expand services for the poor and uninsured.
Meeting at the Georgia Tech Research Institute and Conference Center, participants such as Renee Ranson of Lithonia's South DeKalb Center for Health Living networked with other clinic administrators about best practices for treating those who have no where else to turn for primary healthcare. "We learned insightful information we couldn't get anywhere else," Ms. Ranson said. "I was able to find out about resources others have such as getting specialists who can help out our clinic. This is definitely a "we" thing. None of us can do it alone."
Ronald E. Bachman, CEO of Healthcare Vision, and GFCN Board member, told the attendees that their service to the community was priceless. "You are the safety net of the safety nets," he said, adding each member should work to ask the Legislature for the one-time, $2 million grant the GFCN network is seeking to expand services and the number of clinics in Georgia. "Together, we can leverage the state funding to get more free clinics and unclog emergency rooms."
Dr. Rhonda Meadows, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Community Health, echoed his comments. "You have good people running the front lines and the offices of your clinics," she said. "I have been on the receiving end of the services you provide at your clinics. Thank you for all that you do." Meadows recounted stories of growing up as a child in Brooklyn, N.Y. Her family was unable to afford health care. She said she was treated for lead poisoning, pneumonia and other illnesses at free health clinics.
Mark Cruise, the former executive director of the Virginia Association of Free Clinics and now Principal of Free Clinic Solutions, said clinic personnel must echo the same message: free clinics are a bargain for patients and non-patients. "You deliver a valuable service that saves Georgia taxpayers if not tens of millions, then hundreds of millions of dollars," Cruise said, noting the dramatic increases in uninsured patients. "You see this problem come through your door every time you open your door. You see the pain and hardship and struggle. No one knows this problem better than you."
Conference participants completed the meeting with a trip to the State Capitol and lobbied lawmakers for the Georgia Free Clinic Network's requested $2 million grant for the upcoming budget.
