- April 28, 2024
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The line forms as early as 4 a.m. every second Saturday, at the Flagler County Free Clinic, in Bunnell. The clinic only has time and resources to see about 75 patients, and for the growing number of Flagler residents without health insurance, waiting in line is about the only option, according to Faith Coleman, a nurse practitioner who co-founded the clinic in 2005.
Thanks to 120 volunteers, including three-dozen doctors and nurses, the clinic has treated 8,000 patients in six years.
And thanks to the $18,000 raised at the second-annual Gala Monster Mash Oct. 29, at the Palm Coast Yacht Club, the clinic will soon acquire an ultrasound machine.
Recently, the clinic also bought an electrocardiogram machine. It has also expanding its preventative dental care, thanks to a $10,000 grant written by Home Instead.
The Palm Coast Rotary Club, Florida Hospital Flagler, Palm Coast Imaging, the Women’s Golf Association of Grand Haven and many churches have donated resources. The Palm Coast United Methodist Church feeds the volunteers and patients.
One patient, Franklin, comes to the clinic every other weekend for treatment for esophageal cancer. And he brings food for the volunteers.
“He’s part of the giving,” said Dr. Don Alfonso, who has been with the clinic since the beginning and is on the Board of Directors. “We give him help, and now he helps us so we can go to work.”
Wearing a red-and-white masquerade gown, Coleman was particularly humbled by the attendance and enthusiasm at the gala. Her battle with cancer in 2003 was the inspiration for the clinic. With no health insurance, she mortgaged her house to pay the $35,000 in bills.
Eight years later, she has learned her cancer is back.
“It makes it all the more real to me, to know how this happens to people,” she said. “Just because you don’t have insurance doesn’t mean you’re not educated or have a good job.”
Now, her bills are starting to stack up once again.
“It was a shock, after all she’s been through,” said Coleman’s 17-year-old daughter, Madison Becker. “It’s a test of her will, but we know she can pull through it again.”
Coleman has said her own health struggles help her empathize with others in her situation — and to appreciate those who help with the clinic. (She doesn’t receive treatment at the clinic, which is only for those below the federal poverty level, she said.)
A Flagler County resident for the past 11 years, she said: “It’s a very tight community. They take care of their own, and without the stigma. That’s important. I can imagine how hard it must be for patients to show up (asking for free care). We always tell them, ‘I’m glad you’re here.’”
HOURS OF OPERATION
8 a.m., first and third Saturdays, for 50 walk-in patients
5 p.m., first and third Thursdays, for 10 walk-in patients
700 E. Moody Blvd., Bunnell
Call 437-3091 or visit www.FlaglerCountyFreeClinic.com.
The need at the clinic is rising. Doctors who are willing to volunteer can call Pat Mannello at 586-5842.
