Every 1st and 3rd Wednesday, the St. Paul Medical Clinic in Lancaster is buzzing with activity. The clinic opened a few months ago to help fill a need in the community.
"This area is definitely a medical desert," Society of St. Vincent de Paul CEO Luis Gonzalez said. "The type of patient growth that we're seeing really just demonstrates that it's filling a critical need, because there are a lot of people in this area that just don't have access to medical care."
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul partnered with Dr. Mayra Jimenez Thompson and her husband, Dr. Jeffrey Thompson, to open the low-cost community medical clinic near Lancaster's St. Vincent Center. Patients pay a flat fee for everything from the doctor's visit to lab tests.
"35 dollars," Jimenez Thompson said. "However, if a person comes in and says I can't afford it, we' don't turn them away."
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Patient Lucinda Torres came to the clinic after not seeing a doctor for a decade.
"Ah, I found out I was diabetic," Torres said. "Big surprise to me!"
"We're finding people that have diseases we can prevent," Jimenez Thompson said. "This is why they're dying at an earlier rate."
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The clinic caters to the "working poor," uninsured, and under-insured.
"I haven't had insurance in a little while," Torres said. "It's a little pricey for me right now."
Jimenez Thompson pointed out that catching medical issues early can save money later.
"When I came to this country as an immigrant, my parents paid cash, but it was still affordable," Jimenez Thompson said. "Somehow we have evolved into a society that medical care is no longer affordable."
"It has stopped me from coming to see the doctor, just knowing how much out-of-pocket I was going to have to pay and not be able to afford it," Torres said, explaining why she had not been to a doctor for 10 years. "It's devastating."
With the help of the St. Paul Medical Clinic, Torres is changing her diet and getting access to free prescriptions through the charitable pharmacy of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
"These patients do appreciate that we are here to take care of them," Jimenez Torres said. "And we love them."
Jimenez Torres said she hopes to be able to expand the St. Paul Medical Clinic days beyond the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays and hopes to be a model for other low-cost community clinics.
