After receiving a $500,000 grant from the Claude Moore Charitable Foundation last year, the Loudoun Free Clinic is set to unveil its newly renovated offices and patient care space next week, located on the second floor of Inova Loudoun’s Cornwall Campus in Leesburg.
“It is an extraordinary gift that will enable us to take the clinic to a higher level, allow us to serve more people in need and provide an enhanced environment so we can continue to be a leader in providing primary care to the County’s most vulnerable,” said Loudoun Free Clinic’s Executive Director Maribeth Sheehan.
She expressed gratitude for the community volunteers “who help make this clinic run” including professionals who volunteered their services for the renovation such as Hammes Company, E4h Architecture and WSP.
“Their expertise and oversight helped to make the project successful,” she said.
The Loudoun Free Clinic, which is Loudoun’s only free clinic, was founded in 1998 and is funded by grants and donations. It provides free medical care to Loudoun County adults ages 19 to 64 who are in need of assistance.
On a recent tour of the clinic, Development Director Erin Gulick said the renovations upgraded the exam rooms and added two additional patient care spaces as well as adding office space for staff, supply storage and a larger waiting room. The office is also now ADA compliant and accessible, she said.
During the pandemic, the clinic saw an estimated 40 percent increase in need for free patient care. About 75 percent of the patients were seen via telehealth appointments. Now, that level is at about 40 percent, she said.
There are 10 to 12 volunteer doctors who regularly see patients as well as two nurse practitioners, three nurses and one medical assistant on staff.
During the pandemic, the volunteer numbers dropped.
“We are slowly building back our volunteers,” Gulick said.
Medical specialists are not on staff; however, they do have volunteers who come in to the clinic to see patients, or patients are sent to office appointments through a referral process. There is also mental healthcare treatment available monthly as well as a nutritionist.
“We are seeing an increased need for mental health support so we try to make a connection for our patients in helping them seek treatment,” she said.
One of the nurses at the clinic oversees the pharmacy program on-site which provides chronic care medications for patients.
“It takes a lot to coordinate these moving parts,” said Karen Tortora, RN, who has been on staff for three years and volunteered at the clinic since 2013.
Maria Krishnamoorthy and Paula Callaghan work in the administrative office to process patient information as well as to provide community outreach.
They said patients can apply online through a “quick and easy process.”
There are currently 1,000 to 1,200 active patients and they are constantly working with patients to renew their membership with the clinic, which has the capacity to see about 1,500 patients per year.
“We want them to come here,” Callaghan said. “We have a good connection with local nonprofits and parent liaisons at the schools so we can find the families who are in need of healthcare services. We are seeing a lot of need in the community. They struggle and cannot afford healthcare.”
“We go above and beyond to help our patients connect with resources and refer them to other places if needed. Community connections are so important in helping people navigate the system,” said Krishnamoorthy.
Callaghan added that they encourage people who come to the clinic to lead a healthy lifestyle, which includes diet and exercise.
“Prevention is so important. Less money is spent on health care when you can live a healthy lifestyle,” she said.
With 48 different nationalities among their patient pool, translation services are available to patients.
In addition to the renovations, the Claude Moore Charitable Foundation Grant helped them to develop a new logo and they hope to create a greater awareness of the fact that these services are available in Loudoun County.
“It is truly a community effort,” Gulick said. “We want to give them hope.”
The Loudoun Free Clinic has a fundraiser “Boots, Beer & BBQ” event planned for Nov. 10. For more information, visit loudounfreeclinic.org.
