EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — It’s been a year since the West Side Free Clinic opened its doors to the public.
It provides free health services to people without access to basic medical care.
“I’ve seen El Paso suffer from a shortage of doctors, inadequate care. I think it’s really impressive when someone comes to their hometown and helps two or three parents, it really makes a difference,” said Elizabeth Penner, a second-year medical student.
“Imagine you go to an urgent care center and maybe you have a sore throat. We can treat patients like that,” said Ted Shi, a medical student.
The focus is on low-income, undocumented and homeless people. Although the clinic is ultimately open to everyone
Whether they’re from abroad or they’ve just recently moved here and don’t have care yet. Or they just don’t have any form of insurance,” said Iris Ham, a fourth-year medical student.
The clinic consists exclusively of medical students and volunteer doctors.
“At first we had problems getting people to know about our clinic,” says Ham.
Although it was only open once a month, volunteers said word of mouth spread quickly as people found out about it, allowing them to open twice a month and serve the community.
There’s a need. I know people say the west side is getting more affluent, but there are so many areas here that are just so underserved. It’s an opportunity to bridge the gaps between patients who may end up in the emergency room and can’t afford it,” Shi said.
The clinic is funded entirely by grants and local donors.
Volunteers said there is a great need for more funds as it will allow the clinic to purchase more equipment and provide better care to patients.
“We cannot cover the cost of prescription drugs at the moment and if we had individual financing options, such as external sources, then that could help us cover that,” Shi said.
More resources would enable them to continue to build effective health services for the population here in Sun City.
“Being born and raised in El Paso, it’s very special and an honor for me to be able to give back. It’s just incredible that everyone is willing and wants to help help people. And I’m so grateful for that,” Shi said.
Last March, the clinic was also granted the status of a non-profit organization under Section 501 c3.
The clinic is open this weekend on Saturday and Sunday from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. It is located at 201 E Sunset Rd, El Paso, TX 79912.
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