Kansas City Free Health Clinic

Kansas City, Mo.
Grant Amount: $25,000

Incorporated in 1971, the Kansas City Free Health Clinic is one of the oldest and largest free clinics in the country. With two locations and 900 volunteers who donated more than 32,000 hours of service last year, the clinic served 5,665 unduplicated patients, for a total of 45,650 encounters, with 23,794 prescriptions dispensed.

The majority of their patients live in urban Jackson County, Missouri, but the clinic sees clients from throughout the metropolitan area and beyond, including more than 20 counties across both Missouri and Kansas. Ninety-two percent of their patients have incomes at or below 100 percent of the federal poverty level. The need for accessible, quality health care is so high that the clinic turns away 150-200 patients each week because their appointment slots fill up so quickly.

Because the clinic is the largest provider of free medical care in the Kansas City metropolitan area, they fill a unique niche. While other free clinics in the area have more limited hours, offer fewer services, charge clients on a sliding scale, and/or accept patients with public or private insurance, the Kansas City Free Health Clinic will refer individuals with Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurance to these other safety net providers when possible, to preserve their resources for people who have no other place to go. This is crucial as they avoid duplicating efforts of other safety net providers.

Kansas City Free Health Clinic will receive a $25,000 grant for their Chronic Care Project. Funds will support a nurse practitioner, medical supplies, and pharmaceuticals. The nurse practitioner will schedule chronic care patients to meet with providers, refer them to education clinics such as diabetes clinics, dietary counseling, and medication instruction, and regularly collect data to assess their progress. The project’s goal is for the nurse practitioner to provide at least 500 chronic care visits.