Massive Free Health Clinic Registration is Now Open for Gulf Coast Area Uninsured

NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Gulf Coast area residents who are without health insurance are urged to register now for the upcoming massive free clinic to be held in New Orleans on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1.  Patients should call 1-877-236-7617 to make an appointment today.

The National Association of Free Clinics (NAFC) will sponsor the free medical clinic on Aug. 31 from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and on Sept. 1 from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

"This free clinic is not just for the sick but also for anyone who is uninsured and has not seen a doctor recently," NAFC Executive Director Nicole Lamoureux said. "All participants will receive preventive primary medical care and be connected to the area's safety-net providers such as free clinics."

This will be the eighth in a series of large C.A.R.E. (Communities Are Responding Everyday) Clinics, held around the country to bring together physicians and other health care professionals, as well as non-medical volunteers, to serve the needs of thousands of people who might otherwise go without medical care.  The C.A.R.E. clinic is returning to New Orleans for the second time in the past year to bring help to the Gulf Coast area residents that are in need of medical care.  Since last September, more than 9,200 uninsured patients received treatment at C.A.R.E. Clinics in Houston, New Orleans, Little Rock, Kansas City, Hartford, Atlanta and Washington, D.C. 

"Five years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast area, the convention center will be a place where once again residents can go to for help," Lamoureux said. "This time, during the aftermath of the oil spill crisis, uninsured people will be able to get a free medical exam, along with a variety of other services such as HIV testing, and will be connected to other available resources that most do not know even exist."

Free clinics and other safety-net providers exist throughout the country to help those in need everyday. These C.A.R.E. clinics are a way to highlight this incredible work and to connect uninsured people with a place to go for medical care in their area for follow-up care.  

Patients are urged to call 1-877-236-7617 today to schedule an appointment.  In addition to the toll-free number for appointments, information about the clinic is available online at: www.freeclinics.us. The site also includes information and registration for medical and non-medical volunteers, who are needed to participate in this two-day free clinic. Volunteers are needed not only on the days of the event, Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, but also to help with set-up on Aug. 30.

About the National Association of Free Clinics:

The National Association of Free Clinics is the only nonprofit 501(c) (3) organization whose mission is solely focused on the issues and needs of more than 1,200 free clinics and the people they serve in the United States.

Founded in 2001 and headquartered near Washington, D.C., the NAFC is an effective advocate for the issues and concerns of free clinics, their volunteer workforce of doctors, dentists, nurses, therapists, pharmacists, nurse practitioners, technicians and other health care professionals, as well as the patients served by free clinics in communities throughout the nation.

SOURCE National Association of Free Clinics