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NEWS RELEASE... The clinic will
be primary community response to those without health care insurance. "We are genuinely excited to have a medical professional of Ms. Jones' caliber and experience join the Moore Free Care Clinic," says H. David Bruton, M.D., chairman of the MFCC board of directors. "Her management experience and career in women's health will be a tremendous asset to the community of patients the clinic will serve." According to Dr. Bruton, Ms. Jones will manage all aspects of the daily operations of the clinic, including its pool of licensed medical staff and administrative volunteers. Ms. Jones previously worked as a staff nurse specializing in women's health at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital and completed clinical rotations in Moore, Montgomery and Chatham counties as part of her nurse practitioner training. She studied nursing at Fayetteville Technical Community College and the University of North Carolina after serving with the U.S. Army as a military intelligence officer with tours in Latin America and South Korea. It was during her detachment command that she showed she had the ability to manage in crisis situations. "I have experienced some very fluid, high-stress situations and I suspect a little bit of that will be needed to start a new clinic," she comments. "There's always that unpredictable event to resolve each day, which makes it challenging. Now I will combine the work I love; my military management experience, the clinical work, and my Spanish language competency to serve our community. Helping others was the reason I moved into nursing after my career with the Army." Ms. Jones also served as a standby translator at Moore Regional Hospital. "I've certainly learned all the Spanish words that you can imagine in a labor and delivery environment," she jokes. " Now, I find myself hoping that I am using the correct words to talk with Hispanic men about their general health." The clinic will play an important role in the safety net system by filling important health care gaps. The MFCC board of directors estimates that there are an approximately 4,500 uninsured people in the county who will seek care at the clinic. Many of these people are undocumented Hispanics. While dozens of organizations work to advocate for the uninsured, the Moore Free Care Clinic will be the primary community response to providing health care for those at risk. The clinic will initially be housed at the Moore County Department of Health in Carthage. It will use the facility in the evening after the Health Department personnel have finished their work for the day. The Moore Free Care Clinic will provide acute and chronic medial care, limited prescription medications, focused laboratory and radiology testing and health education resources to low-income individuals living in Moore County thanks to the enthusiastic support of the community. In December a local resident provided an anonymous donation of $100,000 to the clinic, and a group of 87 local physicians, led by Pinehurst Surgical Clinic provided a jump-start. FirstHealth of the Carolinas provided a matching grant. The Board is working to establish a capital campaign to help underwrite the prescription medications and to endow future operational needs. Contributions to the clinic may be mailed to: Moore Free Care Clinic, P.O. Box 1656, Carthage, NC 28327. ABOUT THE MOORE FREE CARE CLINIC The Moore Free Care Clinic is a non-profit organization that provides free primary, preventive and specialty health care to limited income people living in Moore County who are uninsured and can't afford access to health care. The clinic is located at 705 Pinehurst Avenue, P.O. Box 1656, Carthage, NC 28327. For more information about the clinic, its volunteer opportunities or to provide a donation, please contact the clinic office at 910-947-6550 or visit the clinic's website, www.MooreFreeCare.org. |
