Wheeling
Health Right, one of more than 400 U.S. clinics in AmeriCares’ partner network,
serves nearly 20,000 of West Virginia's uninsured each year. AmeriCares supports the free clinic
with medical aid and educational materials to help patients in need better
manage their chronic respiratory diseases and live longer, healthier lives.
In addition to ongoing medical
aid, AmeriCares has recently selected Wheeling
Health Right to receive a chronic disease bundle for respiratory diseases—including education materials for their patients and Patient Assistance Program
software to help patients manage their illness and reduce the burden on local hospitals.
“We are extremely grateful for our relationship with AmeriCares. You have
been a huge asset on many levels and you support of the Chronic Disease
Initiative is extremely exciting. We are honored,” said Kathie Brown, the clinic’s Executive Director.
Established
in 1985 to serve a growing number of the area’s “working poor”—those earning
enough to be ineligible for Medicaid yet unable to afford insurance—Wheeling
Health Right clinic serves more than 19,000 patients and fills 212,000
prescriptions each year. The median household income in the region
served by the clinic is $32,527, the unemployment rate is over 10 percent, and
17.2% of the population in their
congressional district is uninsured.
The clinic employs 30 staff and is
helped by more than 200 volunteers, including a certified diabetic educator and
a health educator. Diabetes has been a
primary focus of the clinic since 1993 and in 2011, a comprehensive chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease program was added.
Helping more uninsured Americans gain access to basic
healthcare
AmeriCares delivers health and hope to American families who can’t afford basic
health care by providing free medicines and supplies to more than 400 safety
net clinics across the country. The clinics provide primary care services to
the uninsured and underinsured, including adult and pediatric exams, and
chronic disease maintenance. Supporting these crucial safety net clinics
with resources helps them stretch their budgets and expand services so they can
treat a growing number of people in need.
