Organizers are very close to opening up Fayette County’s first free medical clinic, which will provide basic medical care to local uninsured residents.

The hope is to open the Fayette CARE Clinic sometime in January, said Ginger Blackstone, vice president and director of development. The group is still seeking donations and needs about $20,000 to start seeing patients. The clinic is located at 128 Sumner Rd. between Fayetteville and Peachtree City. That’s across the road from the Coweta-Fayette EMC building.

The CARE Clinic (Compassion And Respect for Everyone) will provide basic medical and dental care for uninsured residents who qualify. Also, a network of specialists has been established among local physicians who have agreed to see CARE patients who need treatment beyond what the clinic can provide, Blackstone said.

“Fayette County’s medical and dental practitioners are ready to donate their services, but we need our community’s financial support to complete the facility and open our doors,” said CARE Clinic President Gail McNair.

Piedmont Fayette Hospital has agreed to process all blood work and X-rays at its facility to help the clinic. The building will initially be open one evening a week, but the hope is to expand that schedule as necessary, Blackstone said.

To qualify for treatment, patients must live in Fayette County, lack other health insurance (including government programs such as Medicaid) and meet current federal poverty guidelines.

Cash donations can be made online via PayPal at www.fayettecareclinic.com/donations or by calling Blackstone at 770-487-4980 or 404-394-7837. In-kind donations needed include:
• Sheetrock to complete interior walls.
• Floor covering, preferably tile to complete floors.
• Seating for patient waiting area.
• Paper products for examination rooms, bathroom and sink areas.
• Window coverings (blinds) for one double and 13 single, double hung windows.
• Software package to maintain accurate records and insure patient confidentiality.
• Medical and dental supplies such as gauze, bandaging and exam gloves.
• Examination room equipment.
• Initial pharmaceuticals.
• Ongoing facility operations costs for utilities and the like.

The clinic has a new medical director, Dr. Ivy Smith, a family practitioner who has a private practice in Tyrone. A graduate of the Wayne State School of Medicine, she is an attending physician at Piedmont Fayette Hospital. Smith said she is looking forward to serving the clinic’s first patient on opening day, particularly given all the volunteer efforts involved in the project.

Former medical director and cofounder Dr. Betsy Horton will still have a role in the clinic, bringing her experience with a similar clinic in Clayton County.

Construction of the clinic is nearing completion, as Peachtree City Boy Scout Mark Trinquero coordinated the landscaping upgrade, and other donations from Group VI, Pfeifer Building Company, Spinner Landscaping, Skinner Nurseries, Fairburn Ready Mix and Pfizer Pharmaceuticals.

A St. Patrick’s Day fund-raiser is planned for March 17 at Glendalough Manor in Tyrone; the black-tie affair will include live and silent auctions and a live band. More details will be released at a later date.

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