Recipient Spotlight

Last True Free Clinic: Bread for the City’s Medical Clinic

As one of the last true free clinics left in DC, Bread for the City’s Medical Clinic (BFC) exists to ensure that primary health care is made available to the District's poor, those who most often forgo care due to lack of insurance and/or inability to pay medical bills, much to the detriment of their long-term health outcomes. In essence, BFC strives for 100% access and 0% disparities. They achieve this by offering same day/next day appointments, and by not charging co-payments or any other costs for their services. In addition, given their medical home model, BFC’s providers engage patients beyond their immediate medical needs in order to foster partnerships in which the patients become active participants in their own long-term health and well-being.

“For me, medicine has always been a balance between helping people stay healthy and helping others manage chronic disease”, says Dr. Randi Abramson, BFC’s Medical Clinic Director. “I feel lucky that I have the education, skills and knowledge, and I have always wanted to help people who didn’t have those opportunities.”

Approximately 2,400 unique patients are seen by BFC’s Medical Clinic through over 9,500 total patient visits annually—a number that’s sure to increase significantly over the next few years with the January 2011 opening of BFC’s expanded medical clinic facility.

About BFC's Medical Clinic

Operating since 1974, BFC’s Medical Clinic operates just like any other doctor’s office in that they focus their efforts on both primary and preventive care. They provide examinations, medications and lab tests. They offer referrals for specialty services, such as x-rays, child delivery and mammograms, and they conduct screenings for TB, cancer, STDs and HIV/AIDS. In regard to preventive care, they screen patients for potential risk factors that could lead to chronic disease; like hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and high cholesterol. Considering that these diseases are largely preventable if caught early on, they provide supportive services to at-risk patients to enact simple lifestyle changes in order to mitigate their health risks.

BFC’s Medical Clinic also provides free job physicals that enable low-income individuals to complete employment applications, enrolls patients in detox and substance abuse programs when needed, and operates a monthly human rights clinic, through which refugee patients receive assistance in working through the lengthy examination process involved in applying for asylum. BFC also enrolls patients in public health insurance programs that provide them with greater access to prescriptions and specialists.

How the Jones Foundation Helps

In addition to helping cover the day-to-day costs associated with the operation of BFC’s Medical Clinic, the Jones Foundation has also provided generous support for the expansion of Bread for the City’s Northwest Center facility. Opening in January 2011, this expansion doubles the size of BFC’s previous clinic space and will enable it to nearly triple our capacity for patient visits. In addition, the new space gives BFC nearly twice the number of exam rooms (10), a client health education resource center, and a brand new family friendly wait space. Most significantly, this expansion will allow BFC to launch two brand new client services: dental care and vision screening. Thus, support from the Jones Foundation has helped Bread for the City to solidify its role of providing free health care to DC’s low-income community for many more years to come.