RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) – Whenever there is a healthcare crisis, the Health Brigade, a free healthcare clinic in Richmond, opens its doors to the most vulnerable.
“A lot of the folks we saw then didn’t have housing; they were low-income, they were college students. Then, we did a lot of the HIV/AIDS work in the 80s. We still do a lot of that work,” said Karen Legato, the executive director.
Legato said when COVID-19 was running rampant, they were on the front lines.
“That exploded the number of people now needing care. And then we found ourselves treating diabetes, high blood pressure, and all kinds of chronic illnesses people were letting go by the wayside,” she said.
Health Brigade(WWBT)
They’re just one of many free healthcare clinics across the Commonwealth trying to meet the demand. They see 60 to 70 patients daily.
While their appointments are stacking up, so are their staffing and operational costs.
“We’ve been running on a deficit for the past two years. And we’re actually at a critical point where I’m actually not sure how much longer we’re going to be to sustain,” Legato said.
According to the Virginia Association of Free and Charitable Clinics, they went from seeing 75,000 patients to over 108,000 between 2022 and 2023.
The cost to care for each uninsured patient jumped from $900 to just over $1,000.
The association has presented a budget amendment to the general assembly. It is asking for an extra $4 million, increasing its fund from $6.8 million to $10.8 million a year.
“The $4 million would represent care for 4,000 patients. A very modest ask when you think that the clinics are serving 108,000 Virginians right now,” said Rufus Phillips, CEO of VAFCC.
Legato says the money would be a game–changer, allowing them to continue their decades-long work treating the Richmond community.
“Any time they get into a crisis, and they don’t have health care, we are here for them, and we are here for their families,” Legato said.
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