Morristown free clinic giving care to the uninsured

MORRISTOWN, Tenn. (WATE) — A recent Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee study found 7.7 percent of Tennesseans have no health insurance. A free clinic in East Tennessee that is filling the medical access gap for residents.

On a quiet road in Morristown sits a small free clinic that is bustling inside.

“You can see from the lobby today we are packed we see about, depending upon the day and the situation outside and stuff, we can see anywhere from 10 to 15 to 20 patients a day,” said office manager, Rose Conner.

Her days are filled with checking in patients at the Helping Hands Community Clinic of Hamblen County. The clinic fills the gap for those who don’t have health insurance.

“It’s incredible what we do because there are so many patients,” she said.

Gail Campbell is the registered nurse on staff and serves on the board of directors.

“The majority of our patients are being seen for diabetes, hypertension, just like the rest of the community, just like veterans in the community. 80% of what we see are patients that are hypertensive or diabetic or both, and so we are able to get labs for them. And we are able to get medicines for them to treat these specific diseases. And then that keeps it from escalating to something worse,” said Campbell.

They want the community to know they are there for those who need it most. Even offering interpreters on Wednesdays for those who don’t speak English. Despite all of this, they’d like to be able to do more.

“Getting more providers to volunteer. We had quite a few providers several years ago, probably prior to COVID and then when their practices opened back up, and all of the paperwork and all of the things that they have to do in their general practice keeps them from having enough time to be able to volunteer for our clinic,” she said.

Campbell said providing routine medical care not only saves lives but, keeps people from missing work.

“If they’re sick, if they have the flu, they can’t go to work, or they try to go to work, and then they’re ill then they spread it and then you know, the problem just exacerbates,” said Campbell.

To qualify for the Helping Hands Clinic , you must be 19-64 years old, uninsured, have proof of income, proof of address, and qualify under the Federal Poverty Guidelines.

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