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Coming to this page...LEARN ABOUT HOW YOU CAN HELP US OPEN A FREE CLINIC NEAR you. 

Dear Friends:


I wanted to share with you a unique opportunity to help the many friends and neighbors in our community who go without healthcare and medications due to being uninsured.


I invite you to join me in starting a Volunteers in Medicine clinic that would give free care to those in need, using volunteer physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare workers who donate their time and expertise to help others.


Why am I passionate about this?


Because 10 years ago, my wife and I found ourselves without health insurance and no way to afford doctors’ visits, although we had both worked working many years in professional positions. There were very few options for us. We were blessed to find the Volunteers in Medicine Berkshires clinic in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. The volunteer doctors and nurses at this clinic gave my wife and I the best care I’ve ever received in my life. In fact, they saved my life by diagnosing my diabetes and helping me get the care and medication I needed, all at no cost to my wife and myself.


I know the difference a clinic like this can make, because they changed my life. My vision is to establish a clinic like this here in our community. Will you help me pay it forward to others who don’t have health insurance and need care they can’t afford?

The clinic that treated me and saved my life, at no cost, was a Volunteers in Medicine clinic, a nonprofit that raises all support from the local community and sees patients using local healthcare professionals who volunteer. Over 90 similar clinics have been established in the U.S. Will you join me in bringing this vision to life here? This is a proven model of neighbors helping neighbors. No fees are charged, no insurance companies are billed, no taxpayer dollars are used.


Will you prayerfully consider assisting with this endeavor to start a Volunteers in Medicine clinic in Minersville, PA?


I would love to share my story with you in person and answer any questions you may have. You can reach me at (570) 617-4620 or [bobalonge@gmail.com].


Blessings,

Pastor Bob Alonge

Dear Colleagues:


I wanted to share with you a unique opportunity to help the many friends and neighbors in our community who lack healthcare. I would like you to join me in starting a Volunteers in Medicine clinic.

  • Volunteers in Medicine America is a national nonprofit that helps communities build and strengthen free clinics for the uninsured and underserved using volunteer healthcare professionals. This is a proven model that has been successfully replicated in 30 states throughout the country. Every Volunteers in Medicine America clinic shares the following features:

  • Is or is part of a 501c3 tax-exempt organization

  • Provides healthcare services free of charge to the patients

  • Is community-owned and supported, and through its governing body remains accountable to the community as a whole and not to any single institution or funder

  • Provides one or more of the following services: medical care, dental care, or behavioral healthcare.

May be in a fixed-site facility, mobile health unit, or portable (“pop-up”) clinic.


Primarily serves low-income, uninsured individuals

Does not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or sexual orientation in patient eligibility and volunteer participation


Adheres to the “Circle of Caring” philosophy in which patients are treated as friends and neighbors in a supportive, caring atmosphere, and not as diseases, cases, or numbers.


Relies heavily on volunteer health care professionals, with particular interest in those who are retired


Has at least one “provider champion” – a well-respected provider who is a leader, who recruits other healthcare professionals, and who effectively advocates for the clinic within the larger healthcare community



Volunteers in Medicine America 

provides free consulting and technical assistance to support the clinic development process, which typically takes twelve months.


Once launched, the Volunteers in Medicine clinic enjoys certain benefits as a network affiliate, including cost-saving opportunities, continuing education, on-demand information and technical assistance, a biennial national conference, periodic grant opportunities, and more.


I encourage you to learn more about Volunteers in Medicine America by reviewing the attached information, as well as the Volunteers in Medicine America website at https://volunteersinmedicine.org/. You are also encouraged to watch this video that showcases what Volunteers in Medicine is all about –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQtu2vt4b2s.


Communities that want to engage Volunteers in Medicine America for clinic development assistance must have a Provider Champion and Steering Committee in place first.


I invite each of you to consider becoming a Steering Committee member. This is a broad-based group of individuals who work together to coordinate and complete all aspects of clinic development in order to launch an effective, well-organized sustainable free clinic.


Time commitments of Steering Committee members will vary but most members will typically contribute 8-12 hours per month until the new clinic launches, at which time the Steering Committee will disband.


Please let me know if you are interested and willing to serve. I am building the Steering Committee now and would like to host an initial meeting soon. I’m also happy to chat if you have any questions or want to have further conversation. You can reach me at (570) 617-4620 or robertalonge@hotmail.com


Sincerely,Pastor Bob Alonge

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