The new year kicked off a new start for Lake County Free Clinic, the only free clinic serving Lake and surrounding counties.  On February 1, 2023, LCFC moved into a permanent facility at 462 Chardon Road in Painesville.  A ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house will be held at 10 a.m. on May 12. 

The clinic’s new site includes six medical exam rooms, a dental suite, a lab for diagnostic tests and a small pharmacy, along with meeting rooms for LCFC’s case management department to provide social service needs for patients.  This site is more than double the space of the clinic’s previous location. 

One staff medical provider and additional volunteer physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants donate their time to see patients.  Nurses and medical assistants volunteer on-site to help provide direct patient care.  The clinic’s dental program, which has been on-hold since March 2020, is seeking dentists, dental hygienists and dental assistants to volunteer in the program, which is expected to resume later this year.

Last year, more than 900 individuals came to LCFC for nearly 3,600 visits with medical providers, patient educators and case management, and for more than 22,000 labs, medication or diagnostic tests or screenings. 

Executive Director Marty Hillis says, “Right now, more than 40,000 individuals across northeast Ohio are uninsured or underserved.  Many are going without medical care because the cost of care for those who don’t have insurance would mean going without paying for their rent, utilities, food or other basic needs.  As the community’s leading safety-net healthcare provider, Lake County Free Clinic is here to catch them and help them improve not just their health, but their quality of life to the benefit of the patient, their family and the community as a whole.”

Visit www.lakefreeclinic.org or follow LCFC on Facebook to learn more.