WANTED: Jail and Bail prisoners

The Eunice Community Health Center needs a few hundred people to help it fulfill its mission to provide health care thousands of people.
And they are wanted for a Jail and Bail event at Ruby’s restaurant on Nov. 3.
Warrants, which amount to a donation request, have already gone out for some people, Willona Haley, a volunteer nurse and patient resource coordinator, said.
But there is still time for to volunteer themselves or someone for the event by calling the clinic at 337-457-1205, she said.
“We provide services that are free to our region, not just to Eunice,” she said.
One of the biggest services provided by the clinic at 450 Moosa Boulevard, Eunice, is a pharmacy.
In 2015, the pharmacy filled 236,941 prescriptions, she said.
“Our free pharmacy is the biggest thing. There is no other free pharmacy in this area,” she said.
The free pharmacy is one of many health care services offered at the clinic. The clinic also has primary care through nurse practitioners.
The free services are offered to people without health insurance, which includes those who work for a business that does not offer health care insurance, the long-term disabled waiting for approval, and the unemployed.
Haley pointed out the clinic helps keep people from seeking primary care from hospital emergency rooms.
The clinic had more than 71,000 patient encounters and 7,280 people saw a nurse practitioner.
The care comes at a cost. Haley said it takes a minimum of $140,000 annually to operate the clinic.
The Jail and Bail is one of three major fundraisers for the clinic. The others are a Tasters’ Choice in February and the Zydeco Triathlon in April.
The Jail and Bail was held last year for the first time and raised about $14,000, Yancy Fontenot, clinic executive director.