Mercy Health Clinic
Mercy Health Clinic serves low-income uninsured residents of Montgomery County, Maryland, providing high-quality medical care, health education, and pharmaceuticals free of charge.
Services
Mercy Health Clinic provides comprehensive healthcare services to low-income, uninsured residents of Montgomery County, Maryland. These services include primary care, specialty care, and health education. The clinic offers healthcare for adolescents ages 13-17 and operates an on-site pharmacy that dispenses prescription medications free of charge. More than $1.2 million in donated pharmaceuticals are distributed annually. Additionally, the clinic coordinates care through expanded partnerships that offer access to other necessary social supports such as healthy food and nonprofit programs.
History of Mercy Health Clinic
Mercy Health Clinic was founded in 2000 by a small group of concerned citizens from Our Lady of Mercy Church and local physicians. Since its inception, the clinic has grown significantly, now serving over 2,200 residents annually with nearly 7,500 office visits and/or free medication pickup visits. Mercy Health Clinic's patients primarily work in service and contracting jobs with no health insurance and no paid leave, and the clinic aims to fill this healthcare gap by leveraging a small staff and a volunteer corps of at least 45 physicians.
Volunteer Corps
Mercy Health Clinic relies heavily on a volunteer corps to meet the comprehensive needs of its patient population. At least 45 volunteer physicians support the clinic's small staff, ensuring that the clinic can provide quality care to over 2,200 residents annually. The contributions of these volunteers are instrumental in allowing the clinic to maintain its high standards of patient care and service, particularly in meeting the needs of underserved populations in Montgomery County.
Adolescent Medicine Program
Mercy Health Clinic's adolescent medicine program provides healthcare services to 250 youth ages 13-17. This program aims to help adolescents develop healthy habits, increase access to behavioral health support, and reduce gaps in healthcare access when schools are not in session. The clinic serves as a secondary healthcare provider for students from four local schools served by school-based health and wellness centers. Services include age-appropriate health screenings, recommended vaccines such as the HPV vaccine, and mental health support.
Partnership with Community FarmShare
Mercy Health Clinic has a partnership with Community FarmShare to provide fresh produce from local farms to its patients, particularly those with diabetes. This partnership delivers food weekly for the first 12 weeks of the summer and includes one-on-one nutrition counseling. Over 40 patients benefit from this program, which helps improve their health outcomes by incorporating more fruits and vegetables into their meals. The program is particularly significant for low-income families who often cannot afford fresh, healthy foods.