Free clinic extends health care to uninsured, under-insured

The Eunice Community Health Center has its finger on more than the pulse of its patients.
Yancy Fontenot, the center’s executive director, said the free clinic and pharmacy has seen an increase in patients since last summer.
“We are having patients who have lost their jobs,” she said.
The clinic served about 2,500 people in 2014, but has seen about 3,000 patients in the past six months, Fontenot said.
The unemployment rate for March was 8 percent, up from 5.7 percent in March 2014.
Fontnot said layoffs in the oil and gas industry are driving the increase at the clinic, which as been open since 2003.
“They lost their insurance, unless they want to keep Cobra, but how do you do that on unemployment?” she said. Cobra allows people to keep their insurance after leaving an employer, however, they must pay the full cost.
Sometimes people obtain health insurance through the federal marketplace, but they can end up with a policy containing a high deductible, she said.
They may be on maintenance drugs for illnesses such as high blood pressure, cholesterol and asthma, she said.
“They can’t stop taking those drugs,” she said.
“Most of the companies pay for medicine for patients that are at or below the 300 percent poverty level.”
The pharmaceutical company guidelines vary, but assistance is available for drug costs ranging for individuals earning $35,000 a year to a family of four earning $70,000 a year, she said.
The clinic at 450 Moosa Blvd., Suite E, offers health care to the uninsured, under-insured and working people, she said.
People can go to their own physician, but can turn to the clinic for assistance with drugs and laboratory work, she said.
The clinic also offers primary care provided by a family nurse practitioner.
People hear about the clinic by word of mouth, doctors and hospitals, she said.
A hospital patient may face four or five prescriptions, she said.
“The hospital will send the prescriptions here, call us to see if we have the medications and they they will fax over the scripts,” she said.
“This is a resource that the hospital can utilize,” she said.
The center’s mission is to serve the uninsured and under-insured in a 60-mile radius with preventative and primary care.
“We don’t turn people away that are in need and have no other resources,” she said.
In 2007, the center helped 1,000 patients.
“I think the best kept secret is our pharmacy, but it is getting out there,” Fontenot said.
The flip of the center is it needs the public’s help to stay open.
“We definitely need help,” Fontenot said
“Please stress how appreciative we are for the support of the community,” she said.
The support includes the Taster’s Choice event and the Eunice Rotary Club’s triathlon. The Taster’s Choice raises about $25,000 and the triathlon can bring in $7,000 to $10,000, she said.
The center has tax deductible status with the Internal Revenue Service, she said.
“We are really in need of funds,” she said. “Just a donation would be awesome. It makes a difference.”
The center has an annual budget of $90,000.