Our History

The Free Clinic of Southwest Washington Story

The success of the Free Clinic of Southwest Washington (FCSW) began with the heartfelt vision of two men: Dr. Samuel Beall, an internist at the Vancouver Clinic, and Father Edward Rankin of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. In 1989, while attending a Rotary meeting, the two friends realized that Clark County was the only region in Washington State that did not have a clinic for low-income and uninsured families. The Greater Vancouver Council of Churches then identified the need after discovering that 14,000 individuals in Clark County had neither health insurance nor the means to pay for heath care. And thus, in May 1990, under the leadership of Beall and Rankin, the Community Health Clinic first opened its doors to provide free, compassionate, quality basic health care to children and adults.
Operated by volunteer medical professionals and a clinic director, the Community Health Clinic ran one night a week in the health district facilities on Fort Vancouver Way; however, it soon became apparent that the Clinic, which initially appeared as a temporary program, was here to stay, and providing care once a week was not enough. Therefore, in 1993, it started seeing patients two nights a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Within five years of service, the Clinic staffed nearly 125 volunteers consisting of physicians, physicians’ assistants, nurses, pharmacists, and clerical workers.

Over the years, the Community Health Clinic continued to address its mission: to treat basic health issues before they became a medical emergency. Thus, in 1997, it took on the Emergency Prescription Fund, which provides medicine for low-income individuals. In 1999, the Community Health Clinic changed its name to the Free Clinic of Southwest Washington and, in 2001, moved to a new, permanent location: the Jim Parsley Education, Family & Community Center. The new 3,300-square-foot space was a positive change; the building accommodated for the growing number of patients and allowed the clinic to provide additional services.  

In 2005, the services of the FCSW were expanded to include dental care for the individuals in Southwest Washington.  An anonymous donor gave $250,000 to the FCSW for a mobile dental clinic which enable them to reach out to children and provide preventive care.  Currently the FCSW dental program is the primary and largest safety net program for free urgent dental care in Southwest Washington.

As part of its mission, the Free clinic of Southwest Washington is seeking to better meet the needs of individuals who are newly diagnosed with diabetes or have been unable to find resources and have allowed their disease to become uncontrolled.  In 2011, the FCSW began providing short term diabetes care.

Furthermore, this all-volunteer clinic is 100 percent community funded and rarely receives governmental aid (allowing the clinic to avoid limiting the services it provides). Grants, partnerships, and the money that patients donate all go toward aiding the clinic and its patients.

Today, with over 650 volunteers, the FCSW provides a wide array of services: basic health, dental, and vision care, children’s immunization, sports physicals, health screenings, a transit diabetes care clinic, and medication assistance. The FCSW also runs the Project Access Program that facilitates and coordinates specialty care for patients. It also offers resource counseling, lice kits, and nutrition counseling and is in the process of creating programs targeted towards patients with glaucoma. Through the walk-in clinics on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings and on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, individuals are able to obtain the urgent medical care they need. If the issue can not be treated at the FCSW, the patient will be referred to other doctors who are willing to provide free or low-cost services. Patients are seen on a first come, first serve basis, and while is it suggested that they contribute small donations, no one is turned away from medical care. The Free Clinic of Southwest Washington continues to strive to meet its mission: to provide free, compassionate, quality basic health care to children and adults.