Facts
- The Georgia Free Clinic Network connects non-profit medical and dental clinics across Georgia serving the over 1.7 million uninsured. According to the Georgia State Auditor, these clinics provide $200 to $400 million of care while only reaching 10 percent of the uninsured population. Charitable clinics are the unseen fabric of the health care safety net in communities, especially in rural areas, serving homeless individuals and those with chronic and life-threatening illnesses such as cancer, hypertension, and diabetes.
- Many uninsured individuals are limited to accessing health care through local hospital emergency rooms. A study in one community revealed that a typical ER visit to diagnose and treat a sore throat is $270. A patient visit at a GFCN clinic is $29, including medication. Not only are the free clinics a tremendous saving to taxpayers and hospitals, they also provide a primary care base and a place where patients can return for routine care.
- Georgia's charitable clinics delivered health care services to approximately 140,000 low-income, uninsured Georgians in 2006, an increase of 25 percent from 2005. Despite the growth of patients served during the last two years, clinics were forced to turn away an estimated 30,000 Georgians due to lack of capacity.
- 80% of free clinic patients have one or more chronic illnesses, requiring extensive and ongoing medical care, care coordination and patient education.
- 55% of the clinics in Georgia have a religious affiliation.
- The top sources of funding for the clinics are individuals, churches, civic groups and corporations.
- The average number of hours per week a clinic is open is 9.5.
- 57% of the patients seen in Georgia clinics are female.
- 85% of the patients treated are between the ages of 18 & 64 years.
- At an average clinic, the percentage of patients who are:
White-40%; African-American-41%; Latino-16% - The percentage of patients who are <100% FPL-62%; between 100-200% FPL-33%; and > 200% FPL-4%
- 95% of the clinics have an on-site pharmaceutical facility.
- The average number of volunteer hours per clinic per year is 2000.
- 89% of the physicians volunteering their time in clinics are board certified.
Data was compiled by the Georgia Free Clinic Network from data provided by member clinics and a national survey conducted in 2006 by Julie Darnell, MHSA, AM, of the Division of Health Policy & Administration, School of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
