Officials with the Outreach Free Clinic and Resource Center in Brandon, founded as the Brandon Outreach Clinic in 1989, closed its doors to patient care as of August 27.
“Please be reminded that the clinic did not fail, we succeeded in fulfilling our mission established 36 years ago, which was to help those in need of medical care who otherwise had none,” said Dr. Stephen D. Parks, a clinic founder and longest-serving volunteer.
According to Dr. Parks, “three major obstacles” forced the clinic’s closing in August. First, the Hillsborough County Health Care Plan, he said, “has made it much easier for patients to qualify and use the system, which has much more in the way of resources than the outreach clinic.”
Second, because the patient base had “dropped dramatically, from 3,000-plus patients to less than 30,” grant money dried up as well, and it would be “disingenuous to keep asking for donations as our patient population continued to shrink,” Dr. Parks said.
And third, “our expenses kept increasing and the county wanted to charge us rent,” Dr. Parks said. “We still pay for utilities, internet service, EMR, medical waste pickup, medications and the list goes on and on.” And because the clinic worked under state and sovereign immunity, seeing undocumented immigrants could create a major liability issue for doctors providing pro bono care.
Launched in a small storage space at a church in Valrico in 1989, clinic doors opened one night a week to treat low-income workers who could not afford health insurance and care. Years later, at 517 N. Parsons Ave. in Brandon, clinic hours spanned four days a week, according to a 2014 newsletter, which reported more than 200 appointments monthly and the donated time of close to 100 doctors, nurses, lab technicians and more.
At the time, 8,400 people were seen annually, with a budget of $230,000 that allowed for more than $2 million worth of services, factoring in donated time, volunteer hours, service organization support and more.
Voice messages for patients are to be answered until Friday, September 27, according to a sign posted September 11 on the clinic’s door. Current and returning patients, and patients who need copies of their medical records, have been instructed to contact and schedule appointments with the Judeo Christian Health Clinic in Tampa, at 4118 N. MacDill Ave.
Other available free clinics include, in Dover, the San Jose Mission Clinic (13571 San Juan Diego Way, 813-707-7376), and, in Tampa, the Calvary Community Clinic (3401 E. Louisiana Ave., 813-238-6000) and the Red Crescent Clinic (7328 E. Sligh Ave., 813-246-5006).
For more information, visit www.facebook.com/outreachfreeclinic or https://theoutreachclinic.com, or call 813-654-1388.
