(Forsyth County, GA) Forsyth County’s new free clinic is giving residents the opportunity to become founding members by joining its 100 Founders Club.
The Forsyth Community Clinic, which recently had its soft opening, offers several basic services such as eye, ear and nose exams, heart and lung exams, and basic diagnosis and treatment for hypertension, diabetes and cholesterol.
While Forsyth County is considered one of the most affluent counties in the state, Executive Director Evan Shoemake said about 28,000 residents are uninsured. That's why the Forsyth Community Clinic was founded, to provide free, non-emergent healthcare to qualified low-income residents 18 to 65 years old. Those aged 65 and up with no Medicare coverage are also eligible.
Forsyth Community Clinic 100 Founders Club
To join the Forsyth Community Clinic 100 Founders Club, Shoemake is looking for 100 people to donate $1,000 each to help treat and track the clinic’s first 1,000 patients.
Why? Because the thousands of dollars it costs to treat a patient at the emergency room would only cost about $100 to treat at the clinic. This means a $1,000 donation from an individual donor can help treat 10 patients.
“This is significant for many reasons,” the clinic’s website stated. “The greatest of which is that 10 people are on the pathway to being A-okay.”
In return, the donor will be noted as a founder of the clinic and honored with a “physical commemoration” inside the building (once it has been established in its permanent location). Shoemake said this will probably be a plaque at the entrance of the new clinic.
Members of the 100 Founders Club will also receive a personal gift and will be treated with a special event after the first 1,000 patients have been treated.
“The biggest thing I want people to stress is that your money goes toward actually helping ten people and to me, it's a big deal to be considered a founder,” Shoemake said.
He said the current deadline for the fundraiser is February but is considering extending it to March.
The Forsyth Community Clinic
Funding for the clinic comes from donations, private donors and grants, including a grant from the Georgia Baptist Foundation. The clinic is operating at The Place of Forsyth County while searching for its own building. It is staffed almost entirely by volunteers.
While the clinic had a soft opening on October 29, Shoemake said the long-term goal is to be open five days a week and to expand its services. However, this is largely dependent on volunteers.
Volunteers with both medical and non-medical backgrounds are needed. Right now, the clinic’s website lists several needed volunteer positions including physicians, volunteer coordinators, medical scribes, nurse practitioners, pharmacists and a fundraising coordinator.
The clinic is currently located at The Place of Forsyth County at 2550 The Place Circle in Cumming.
To learn more about the Forsyth Community Clinic 100 Founders Club, click here. To become a member, click here.
For more information on the Forsyth Community Clinic, visit forsythcommunityclinic.org. Information on volunteering can be found here. Donations can be made here.
If you have a news tip in Forsyth County, contact Justine Lookenott at justine.lookenott@newsbreak.com.
To learn more about the Forsyth Community Clinic, read “Free clinic coming to Forsyth County.”
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