Rotacare Free Clinics
The beginnings of RotaCare Bay Area started in 1989, when Rotary Past District Governor John Fisher and Rotarian Dr. Mark Campbell, a family practice physician, saw a need in the community. The first homeless patient was treated in Santa Clara, California.
PDG John Fisher went on to establish RotaCare Free Clinics, Inc. in 1992.
Since then RotaCare has expanded and includes clinics in the San Francisco Bay Area, Puget Sound, Washington, New York, and Texas.
Our Mission is to develop, support, and enhance the delivery of free medical care for the relief of pain and suffering to those people in the most need and who have the least access to medical care, by establishing and supporting free clinics to provide such medical care.
RotaCare Free Clinics, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)3 Corporation formed for the purpose of providing free medical care to people whom have the most need and the least access to medical services.
It is a coalition of Rotarians, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, interpreters, and other volunteers who provide medical care to the medically underserved in a collaborative effort with hospitals, clinics, community and social service organizations, and service groups.
Clinics are generally held in an existing facility.
Advisory Councils have been able to obtain space that has been provided mostly free of charge for their use.
They are being held in schools, churches, community centers, senior centers, clinics, and hospitals.One clinic operates a mobile facility.
Cost for the initial setup varies depending on the facility used. Generally, Advisory Councils have been able to engage Rotary Clubs and Rotary volunteers who have provided money, materials, and manpower to create the necessary environment to create a clinic.
The cost to operate a once a week clinic will run approximately $20,000 to $80,000 per year. The cost varies depending on how many patients are seen, and what support is given to the clinic in terms of donations and in-kind services. Examples of in-kind donations are medical supplies, office supplies, free rent, laboratory, radiology services, and other related medical items.
Some clinics have relationships with County Health Departments that make available definitive services and specialized drugs such as flu vaccine.
County and private hospitals have also provided in-kind support to clinics. Several of the clinics provided Covid-19 vaccinations in partnership with the hospitals.
The purpose of RotaCare Free Clinics is to support the mission of RotaCare by developing additional RotaCare Clinics in the United States. An additional purpose is to assist existing RotaCare Clinics in their own efforts to become fully established, to provide growth at each clinic site, and to expand to adjacent communities within their state and eventually internationally.