THE WASHINGTON FREE CLINIC

The Washington Free Clinic, the oldest of its kind on the East coast, has a distinguished history of providing quality healthcare services to some of the most marginalized populations in our city, regardless of their ability to pay. Today, the Clinic provides comprehensive primary care to more than 1,300 individuals through a model that emphasizes patient empowerment, compassion and education. Located in the Columbia Heights/Mt. Pleasant neighborhood, the Clinic serves immigrants, refugees, and low-income residents, a majority of whom are of Latino, African American, South East Asian, Eastern European, and Caribbean descent. In addition to primary health care services, the Clinic provides some sub-specialty services as well as HIV/AIDS testing and counseling. Services are offered in both Spanish & English and translators are available for other languages as needed, greatly increasing access and quality of care.

THE NEED

The problem of the medically underserved in Washington DC is tremendous. Consider these statistics:

• 13% of DC adult residents are uninsured – 1 in 5 of those individuals use the emergency room as a source of primary care, on average paying more than $100 per visit out of pocket.

• 45% of DC’s uninsured adult residents had no medical visit within the last year – compared with only 18% of insured adults.

• DC’s infant mortality rate is almost double the national average (12.1 deaths/1000 births vs. 6.9).

• DC has the third highest rate of diabetes in the nation, behind only Mississippi and Alabama.

• 52% of District residents live in health professional shortage areas where the city’s poverty and concentration of ethnic and racial minorities is high.

• The incidence of AIDS in DC is almost 10 times the national average (155/100,000 vs. 17).

The Washington Free Clinic is an integral part of the safety net for the underserved, and seeks to reduce disparities in health by providing accessible and quality health care services to those in greatest need.

The Washington Free Clinic is a 501c(3) non-profit organization (tax identification number 52-0899190) and a Combined Federal Campaign/United Way organization (thank you for designating #8252).