A free health clinic in Harrisonburg will add dental care services this summer. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
The Blue Ridge Free Clinic celebrated their fourth anniversary this week with the news that they'll start offering dental services on site in the next 90 days. Susan Adamson, a family nurse practitioner, is the volunteer director at the practice, where healthcare providers donate their time to care for patients, free of charge. Adamson said they've treated more than 2,000 patients thus far, many of whom have urgent dental needs in addition to other health problems.
SUSAN ADAMSON: It's one of the worst pains people can have. It's a throbbing nerve pain, and it can also be dangerous, especially in patients with diabetes and hypertension … and it can result in infections that extend even into the brain or the face, so dental infections are very serious infections in addition to being exquisitely painful and disabling.
Patients can be seen at the free clinic if their income is below 300% of the federal poverty level.
ADAMSON: We tell them you'll be with us for three to 12 months, on average, while we stabilize your health conditions, get your healthcare maintenance up to date … and then … we come up with a long-term care plan to get them connected with a local primary care office.
They're currently renovating space next door to build out the dental clinic, and recruiting dentists and hygienists. The free clinic is supported by donors and grants, but if local residents lose Medicaid coverage as the result of possible federal funding cuts, the clinic could see an increase in demand.
ADAMSON: We're sort of watching and waiting. We haven't seen any cuts yet. We haven't had patients be disenrolled, but we'll certainly keep our finger on the pulse of that. … Certainly if patients are unenrolled in Medicaid, we hope they'll come to us and we can help them find another plan.
The clinic is raising funds through the Great Community Give on April 16th for the remaining $83,000 needed for the renovation.
