Who We Are
Mission
The mission of the Georgia Free Clinic Network is to provide a collaborative support system to foster growth and development of charitable clinics and improve access to quality healthcare for the medically underserved across the state.
History
After starting the Good Shepherd Clinic in Morrow, Georgia, Dr. Thomas Kelly and Rev. Jimmy Lewis recognized the need for free clinics throughout Georgia and for a clearinghouse to help provide health care to the uninsured and underinsured. As a result, the two founded the Georgia Free Clinic Network (GFCN) in 2003. A board of directors was established, and the Georgia Free Clinic Network was granted nonprofit status by the IRS in 2004 when it was certified as a 501(c) (3) organization.
Initially, GFCN activities were limited to an annual meeting. In 2005, the GFCN broadened its activities. In March 2006, a local health care company gave the GFCN an executive “on loan,” who raised $300,000 in private donations. In 2007, a permanent executive director was hired.
Currently, the Georgia Free Clinic Network is actively governed by a diverse, ten-member Board of Directors. It also has a fifteen-member Board of Advisors.
Today, there are more than 100 independent, non-profit clinics across Georgia participating in the Georgia Free Clinic Network.
These clinics, which vary in size and scope of services, are each uniquely dedicated to serving many of Georgia’s more than 1.7 million uninsured. Staffed primarily by volunteers, these operations reach out to local communities with an unwavering commitment to local populations.
These facilities work deeply in the trenches, tending to the health needs of local citizens. As such, they are forced to focus on acute needs, such as medications, referrals, equipment, and funding.
Uniting these operations with their unique missions and common goals provides GFCN the impetus for its work. Through our efforts these clinics have increased access to technical assistance, resources and networking.
In an era when the state and federal governments are increasing their appropriations for Medicaid, Medicare and state children’s health plans such as PeachCare, the GFCN continues to provide a safety valve to help take the pressure off the taxpayer-supported system of health care.
Our network of clinics provides a model of how the private sector, and in many cases through the faith-based community, can offer health care to the uninsured at no cost to the taxpayers.
