R.I. Free Clinic awarded $99,000 in federal funds to expand services

PROVIDENCE – The Rhode Island Free Clinic has been awarded $99,000 in federal funds to help expand basic health services for the uninsured – a population that now numbers about 140,000 in Rhode Island, including many low-income people.
U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse helped secure the funds for the clinic as part of the federal appropriations process. The money will allow the clinic to increase hours of operation, see more patients and provide better primary care, his office said in a news release.
“The Rhode Island Free Clinic helps our state deliver on an important principle: that all Americans deserve access to basic health services,” Whitehouse said in the release. “This federal funding will help the clinic to further its mission and, in doing so, reduce overall health care costs for our state by preventing unnecessary emergency room visits from uninsured patients.”
The clinic provides primary care, diagnostic, laboratory and pharmacy services. In 2009, it had more than 4,000 patient visits.