By Brenna Keller
NKyTribune associate editor
Faith Community Clinic will begin seeing patients soon. The free health clinic in Newport is part of Faith Community Health Network, the nonprofit that also operates Faith Community Pharmacy. On Thursday evening, volunteers, donors, and other supporters were invited to an open house at the new clinic.
Faith Community Clinic and Faith Community Pharmacy are located in Watertower Square, a historic office building in Newport. Both the clinic and pharmacy provide free services to uninsured patients.
This will be the first full-time free health clinic in Northern Kentucky. Patients will be able to receive care and prescriptions for chronic health conditions. Many uninsured patients rely on hospital emergency rooms for this kind of care. Access to a free clinic and pharmacy can reduce strain on emergency rooms.
The clinic will be run by a mix of paid employees, students from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine Northern Kentucky, and volunteer healthcare providers. There will also be a hospitality team to ensure patients feel comfortable.
Faith Community Health Network has designed the Clinic to be indistinguishable from any other medical office. According to Executive Director Aaron Broomall, the only difference between a visit to Faith Community Clinic and any other doctor’s office is “we just don’t talk about money, and we don’t talk about insurance.”
The doors of Faith Community Clinic open to a reception area, which will be staffed with volunteers. The clinic includes an ADA-compliant restroom, 4 fully equipped medical exam rooms, and a CLIA-approved point-of-care testing lab.
The equipment for the exam rooms was donated by St. Elizabeth, including exam tables and an EKG machine. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital donated furniture. The UK College of Medicine-Northern Kentucky Campus received two grants from the Maxon Foundation, which are being used to fund the lab.
Several medical students from the UK College of Medicine-Northern Kentucky Campus attended the open house, including Ashley Craig, Carter McIntire, Kathryn Zalla. They are members of CCRU (Compassionate Care Reaching yoU) Outreach, a medical student-run organization that provides compassionate, accessible medical care, resources, and education to the underserved population in Northern Kentucky.
The students emphasized the value of participating in CCRU; not only in terms of giving back to the community but also enhancing their medical education. Zalla noted that participating during the 1st and 2nd year of medical school prepares students for clinicals in their 3rd and 4th year. They are already comfortable interacting with patients. It can also set them apart when interviewing for residencies. Zalla has “talked about CCRU [in] every single residency interview.”
Dr. Holly Danneman, Associate Dean of the UK College of Medicine-Northern Kentucky Campus noted that the current generation of medical school students are very community-minded. When they identify a need in the community, they want to work to address it. That is why, according to Dr. Danneman, Faith Community Clinic is “a perfect example of what gets them energized.”
Faith Community Health Network is already planning for future expansion. They have space for additional exam rooms, including a dental clinic. Other plans include a dedicated physical therapy space and mental health services. Renovations on those spaces will begin later this year.
Faith Community Clinic will begin seeing patients May 13. Initially, patients will be seen two days a week. The plan is to eventually be open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm, the same hours as the Pharmacy.
Any clinicians interested in volunteering can visit Faith Community Health Network’s website. Recruitment is also underway for a Clinical Coordinator. The job description and how to apply can be found here.