The St. Clair Community Health Clinic is operated by 100% volunteer medical providers including physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, physical therapists, counselors, pharmacists, and social workers and is the only charitable health clinic in St. Clair County. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the clinic operated four days a week providing primary healthcare, women’s services, mental health services, wound care, physical therapy, pharmacy services, and a walk-in clinic. With approximately 12% of St. Clair County residents living without health insurance, the clinic is uniquely situated to expand services to serve these populations as well as others who have been adversely impacted by COVID-19 including displaced workers, essential workers who do not have healthcare insurance, communities of color, and residents who have unstable housing or are homeless.
The Grant funding from the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham will allow the clinic to expand a new telehealth/telemedicine program and provide a better support structure for the volunteers and patients through addition of a part-time case manager and updated technology. As demand for clinic services will only increase during the pandemic, these grant funds are critical to the mission and function of the clinic.
In the first year of operation, more than 600 individual patients have been served by the Clinic, with over 2,000 patient visits completed. The goal of the clinic is to treat all patients with dignity and respect, providing care for the body, mind, and spirit and thus elevating quality of life. The primary outcome measure for the clinic is to decrease emergency room use in active clinic patients by providing routine care and medications, managing chronic illnesses, and promoting a culture of wellness. The long-term goal of St. Clair Community Health Clinic is to improve the overall health of the county through education and support of patients, empowering them to take ownership of their health and obtain a level of wellness previously thought to be unreachable.
