2008 Woodie Awards
Illini Media
WPGU
buzz
Illio
TechnographFree clinic assists uninsured
By Jessica Wildt
Posted: 2/17/05 Section: News
Champaign County Christian Health Center, a free clinic at 1512 W. Anthony Dr. in Champaign, has provided Champaign County residents with free health care since September 2004 to meet the growing medical need for the uninsured.
Frances Nelson Health Center, the only other public clinic at 1306 Carver Drive, Champaign, has a waiting list that has grown to 1,800 people within the last year, and it takes approximately eight months until people are able to see a doctor. Provena no longer accepted Medicaid from clients, which contributed to the influx of people attending Francis Nelson.
"We found that there's definitely a need (for more medical care)," said Nita Skeels, the Champaign County Christian health Center services coordinator. "People can't possibly wait that long."
Jeff Trask, the clinic's founder and administrator, said the role the clinic plays in the community is important, and that its success is based on two sources - God and different organizations, individuals and agencies in the community.
The clinic, open Tuesdays from 5:30p.m. until 9:30 p.m., has a staff that includes more than 120 volunteers who give their time to provide care to 250 patients.
"That's pretty significant since we're only open one night a week," said Trask, an associate pastor of New Covenant Fellowship, 124 W. White St.
Of these volunteers, all of whom work on a rotational basis, 30 are qualified health practitioners - including doctors, physician's assistants, nurses and medical students from the University. Most of the health practitioners are in Urbana, including Carle Clinic, Carle Foundation Hospital, Provena Covenant Medical Center and Kirby Hospital in Monticello, Ill.
The idea of creating a free clinic began after Trask met Skeels. The two initially met at New Covenant Fellowship and found they had a common interest in starting a free healthcare facility for Champaign-Urbana residents.
Skeels and Trask's vision for a free healthcare facility became a reality when they met Wayne Mathews, a physician's assistant and director of the emergency department at Kirby Hospital.
Frances Nelson Health Center, the only other public clinic at 1306 Carver Drive, Champaign, has a waiting list that has grown to 1,800 people within the last year, and it takes approximately eight months until people are able to see a doctor. Provena no longer accepted Medicaid from clients, which contributed to the influx of people attending Francis Nelson.
"We found that there's definitely a need (for more medical care)," said Nita Skeels, the Champaign County Christian health Center services coordinator. "People can't possibly wait that long."
Jeff Trask, the clinic's founder and administrator, said the role the clinic plays in the community is important, and that its success is based on two sources - God and different organizations, individuals and agencies in the community.
The clinic, open Tuesdays from 5:30p.m. until 9:30 p.m., has a staff that includes more than 120 volunteers who give their time to provide care to 250 patients.
"That's pretty significant since we're only open one night a week," said Trask, an associate pastor of New Covenant Fellowship, 124 W. White St.
Of these volunteers, all of whom work on a rotational basis, 30 are qualified health practitioners - including doctors, physician's assistants, nurses and medical students from the University. Most of the health practitioners are in Urbana, including Carle Clinic, Carle Foundation Hospital, Provena Covenant Medical Center and Kirby Hospital in Monticello, Ill.
The idea of creating a free clinic began after Trask met Skeels. The two initially met at New Covenant Fellowship and found they had a common interest in starting a free healthcare facility for Champaign-Urbana residents.
Skeels and Trask's vision for a free healthcare facility became a reality when they met Wayne Mathews, a physician's assistant and director of the emergency department at Kirby Hospital.
The Daily Illini encourages on-topic discussion through article commenting on its articles and blogs. It is our policy not to delete any comments based upon political or ideological point of view. However, we reserve the right to remove comments that are abusive, off-topic or use excessive foul language.
The posting of copyrighted material, including any and all content for which you are not the author, is illegal under Federal intellectual property laws. Such activity will not be tolerated. Comments containing copyrighted material will be removed, and continued violation of copyright law is grounds for being banned completely from commenting on DailyIllini.com.
If you feel any post meets these conditions or merits review, please e-mail our editors at meonline@dailyillini.com.