The dental clinic operated by the New Orleans Dream Center – one of 400+ safety net clinics in AmeriCares network – treated 565
patients in 2011, providing more than $200,000 in services and goods.
The center was founded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to
care for the city’s growing population of uninsured and impoverished residents.
The medical clinic provides primary care along with chronic care services for
illnesses including diabetes, respiratory, heart, and gastrointestinal disease.
The dental clinic receives regular referrals from hospitals and urgent care
centers because there are no other free clinics offering such comprehensive
services.
AmeriCares delivered nine shipments totaling nearly $115,000
in medicines and supplies to the center in 2011, including a supply of
urgently-needed antibiotics.
“Before the opening of one of our clinics, patients were
standing in line just to have an opportunity to see a doctor,” said Diane Amos,
director of the center. “Because of the donation of amoxicillin, we were able
to provide the antibiotic for people who needed it. With the help of partners
such as AmeriCares, we can have an everlasting effect on many lives.”
Recently, a patient arrived in extreme pain from a broken tooth. She
had been suffering for weeks and had gone to the local hospital, waiting 8
hours only to be told that there was nothing they could do. “ Because we had
recently received the much-needed Amoxicillin, we were able to provide the
antibiotic for her, explained Amos. “We comforted her as much as possible,
provided her with the Amoxicillin and pain medication and scheduled her for an
extraction.”
The need
When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, the city’s
federal flood protection system failed, resulting in the first ever mandatory
evacuation in the city’s history. Between 2005 and 2007, the homeless
population in New Orleans doubled to 12,000 – many of whom were Katrina
evacuees. A Kaiser survey found that
about 25% of the non-elderly population in New Orleans is uninsured and, as a
result, many postpone needed medical care.
Resources
-
Visit Free
Clinics Today
, our
innovative online resource guide for America’s free clinics and nonprofit
health centers.
- Use our USAccess site to browse medical resources for health care organizations working with low-income populations.
Download
the special report: Addressing Resource Gaps in the U.S.
Health Care Safety Net—the first nationwide study of free clinic
resource needs
