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Increasing access to care
Since 2002, the Jeanie Schmidt Free Clinic has provided free medical services to the community thanks to the hard work of more than 150 volunteers.
That steady dedication to providing free health care to residents in Reston, Herndon, Chantilly and Centreville has earned the clinic and its volunteers a 2008 Best in Reston.
Retired public health nurse Jeanie Schmidt initially conceived the idea for the clinic – the first free clinic in Fairfax County – to provide low-income students with the physicals they needed for school and activities. In its first year, the clinic performed 355 physicals.
Schmidt moved out of the area to retire after she opened the clinic, but the community has kept it going, said Kerrie Wilson, CEO of Reston Interfaith.
“It truly was one of those things that bubbled up from the community,” she said.
The clinic and Reston Interfaith often refer clients to one other, as both organizations work with low-income families in the area.
“Ask anybody what the greatest needs are in a community where people are low income, and it's health care,” Wilson said.
The clinic serves patients who have an income of 200 percent or less of the poverty level and who can't afford health insurance, said Executive Director Meagan Ulrich.
Because the patients are without health insurance, many of their problems stem from medical conditions that have been left untreated.
“They've had nowhere to go, so diabetics often go off medicine, children have unattended ear infections,” she said. “It leads to other complications when things go untreated.”
The clinic has expanded beyond physicals and last year had 751 visits. The clinic's growth has been possible through the support of volunteers and a move to a permanent home in a facility in Herndon in March of last year.
Since then, the clinic has been able to offer significantly extended hours and has turned a monthly children's clinic into an available children's provider on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Most importantly, Ulrich said, they've been able to take in more patients.
“Last year we saw 112 adults and 340 kids, it's probably double that this year,” she said.
The clinic's yearly budget remains relatively small at around $300,000, thanks to the work of volunteers and the medicines donated by drug companies. The clinic raises money through donations and a golf tournament held every spring.
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