Two-day Kansas City clinic to provide free medical care for uninsured

Nikki King, Lawrence, will be volunteering at the free health care clinic for the uninsured in Kansas City, Mo., next week. King is executive director of Health Care Access, a Lawrence clinic that provides care for uninsured Douglas County residents.

Free medical care is expected to draw hundreds of people to Bartle Hall Convention Center in Kansas City, Mo., next week.

The National Association of Free Clinics is sponsoring a two-day clinic for uninsured patients between the ages of 6 and 65. The clinic will offer care for all types of issues.

The clinic will be from noon to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 9, and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 10.

To make an appointment, patients should call 877-249-5030. Walk-ins will be seen on a first-come, first-served basis.

About 1,400 volunteers are expected to participate in the C.A.R.E. (Communities Are Responding Everyday) clinic. Medical and non-medical volunteers are still needed. To sign up, call 877-249-5030 or click online. The deadline is Tuesday, Dec. 8.

The Kansas City clinic is the third such event in the past month organized by NAFC. The other one-day clinics were in New Orleans and in Little Rock, Ark., and each served about 1,000 people.

“Free clinics have been serving America’s working poor since the 1960s, but over the last year, our patient base has grown to include white-collar and blue-collar workers who have lost their jobs and health insurance,” said Nicole Lamoureux, NAFC executive director. “People without insurance are up to four times less likely to have a regular source of health care and are more likely to die from health-related problems.”

More than 1,200 free clinics across the United States — including Health Care Access in Douglas County — provide health care for uninsured people. During 2008, four million people received health care from free clinics with the help of more than 6 million volunteers.