WISH LIST $100: necessary physicals for 5 schoolchildren; $500: 1 year of life-saving treatments and medications for a patient with diabetes; $20,000: half day clinic to serve 200 patients a year

The Jeanie Schmidt Free Clinic serves those who have nowhere else to turn: more than 46,000 residents of Fairfax County live below the poverty line and 82,000 have no health insurance. So the Clinic fills the gap, providing a “medical home” for those in need. Children come to see a doctor for the first time in years (if they have ever seen one at all). Chronically ill adults come to manage their diabetes and hypertension, and possibly avoid a health crisis. Both clinics are by appointment only. In between, patients receive medications, visit the optometrist, receive care from a dentist, and attend diagnostic screenings. But the Clinic receives 3 to 5 calls for every available opening. With medical professionals donating their time, and medicines acquired for free, only $20,000 is required for each half day of clinical services. Last year 139 community volunteers – nurses, nurse practitioners, and physicians – gave over 1,300 hours of their time to see patients. Perhaps you will want to give something too, and keep those doors open.

Meagan Ulrich, Executive Director 500 Grove Street, Suite 330, PO Box 5143 Herndon, VA 20172 571-235-3577 jsfreeclinic.org