ABOUT THE FREE CLINC
OUR MISSION
The Free Clinic of Meridian, Inc. in collaboration with strategic partners, provides free quality medical care and referral services with compassion and dignity to the uninsured adults in our community.
OUR VISION
The Vision of the Free Clinic of Meridian is two-fold: first, to provide for the medical needs of the uninsured adults in a seven county area, and secondly, to help reduce the non-emergency use of area Emergency Rooms.
OUR HISTORY
The Free Clinic of Meridian opened in October 2014 to provide free medical care for uninsured adults in the East Mississippi/West Alabama area who earn less than 200% of the Federal Poverty level and are ineligible for Medicaid or Medicare. At the time, there were no free medical clinics in the area. A group of medical providers saw the need, recruited others from a variety of professions, and spent three years laying the groundwork for the Clinic. The Clinic was able to open due to the generosity of individual donors and grantors, local businesses, and the medical community in Lauderdale County. The Free Clinic of Meridian is housed in a clinic owned by Baptist Anderson Regional Medical Center and receives lab services and other support from Ochsner Rush Health.
IMPACT ON OUR COMMUNITY
One of the clinic's goals is to provide free medical care as an alternative to using an Emergency Room for non-emergent conditions. Patients without access to primary care to manage chronic illnesses often delay treatment and arrive in the ER in a preventable crisis condition. Each year, a survey is conducted to compare how many times Free Clinic patients visited the ER versus the number of ER visits they had prior to becoming a Free Clinic patient. The 2023 survey indicated a 34% increase in patients who did not use the ER because of services received at the Free Clinic.
