TFC's History

Our Creation

In the late 1990’s our founders, Drs. Russell Sacco and Irwin Perlmutter, began discussing the need for a free clinic to care for those without access to care in Henderson County, NC.  For several years, they networked with their peers, making the case, garnering support, and recruiting leadership who became the first steering committee.  Drs. Sacco and Perlmutter grew familiar with the free clinic movement in North Carolina and began to create a model for a local free clinic that would use volunteers to provide care to those in need.  The steering committee held public meetings to learn more about the needs in Henderson County and found that there were a significant number of adults who were not receiving medical care.  Early clinic leaders also found that there was a large group of healthcare professionals who were willing to give their time and talent to provide care.

The steering committee met for over two years, carefully formulating a plan for service provision that would most effectively use the talents of volunteer healthcare professionals to help those in need.  The committee learned about the barriers that low-income and medically-indigent people face with respect to healthcare.  Critically, TFC leadership developed strategic partnerships so that the clinics could best assist people with very real medical needs.  After much study and collaboration, the model of service developed was endorsed by Partnership for Health, the Board of Public Health, the Alliance for Human Services, and the Henderson County Health Department before TFC began seeing patients.

The core dimension of TFC’s mission is to “bridge the gaps” in service for low-income, uninsured patients in Henderson County.  TFC strives to provide services that are not duplicated, instead focusing our energies and resources on those areas where care is unavailable or access is very limited.

Our Opening

On 13 December 2001, TFC opened its doors and saw its first patients at a walk-in Medical Clinic.  TFC saw seven patients that night and grew quickly through word of mouth.  The clinic initially met – and still meets – from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday evenings.

Our Clinics and Clinical Services

Because the walk-in medical clinic saw many patients whose needs were not being met through other services, it quickly became clear that TFC needed to help “bridge those gaps”.  Over the first six years, TFC added clinics specifically designed to bridge an identified gap in service. 

• July 2002:  Diabetic Life Management Clinic to assist low-income diabetic patients in understanding and effectively managing their disease. 
• September 2002:  Dental Extraction Clinic at Stokes Dental Center of Blue Ridge Community Health Services because resources for low-income adult dental patients were and continue to be limited.  
• December 2003:  Orthopedic Clinic to work with patients who need more specialized orthopedic care. 
• August 2004:  Eye Clinic, initially to provide screenings for patients of the diabetic clinic and later to accept referrals. 
• December 2006:  Psychiatric Clinic in direct response to the closure of the county’s former safety net mental health provider; the clinic provides psychiatric appointments and medication management to those with mental health needs. 
• September 2007: Pulmonary Clinic to work with patients who need more specialized pulmonary care, especially given the incidence of asthma in our community.  Our Pulmonary Clinic operated on-site for three years; currently pulmonary appointments are handled through our Community Case Management Program and occur in the pulmonologists' office.
• February 2010:  Endocrinology Clinic which is the only resource for endocrinology services in Henderson County. 
• July 2010:  Counseling which provides short-term (4-6 sessions) of therapeutic intervention.
• September 2010:  Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PMR) Clinic with the support of a physiatrist to work with patients who have chronic back and/or neck pain, using a non-narcotic, non-invasive approach.
• August 2011:  Smoking Cessation program in collaboration with the Henderson County Department of Public Health to provide group support and medication assistance to those persons who are ready to be free from tobacco.

Community Case Management (Project Access Model)

In September 2005, we grew into a new area.  We expanded our Case Management Program and opened access to our network of community resources to patients referred by their primary care homes. The structure of our program included case management services for patients of our clinics since our inception.  We intentionally created a collaborative structure with the medical community in Henderson County so that patients seen in our clinics who needed more extensive care have access to that care through our case management program.  By July 2005, primary care providers became aware of our access to medical resources for low-income, uninsured patients and began referring their medically indigent patients back to us for case management services (e.g., diagonstics and/or specialty care).  To adapt to this need, we created a system for receiving case management referrals from other providers and began to track the number of Community Case Management patients.  Using a Project Access model, through the Community Case Management Program, we link uninsured, medically indigent patients with diagnostic testing (lab-work and/or x-rays) and/or specialty care as needed and prescribed by their primary care physician.  We have become the case management resource for the Henderson County medical community for uninsured and medically indigent patients, and the community has come to rely upon us for those case management services.

Pharmacy Programs

In September 2008, with TFC’s relocation to our new facility at 841 Case Street, we adopted a Community Pharmacy from Partnership for Health and the Medi-Find Prescription Assistance Program from Interfaith Assistance Ministry.  TFC’s new structure integrated both prescription assistance and a community pharmacy into our clinic and community case management programs.  In November 2009, TFC entered into a new partnership with AstraZeneca, a pharmaceutical company, to provide medications free to eligible patients. 

Partnerships

In the new facility, TFC also entered into a new partnership with the Department of Social Services who posted an adult Medicaid worker in the new facility, affording patients tremendous ease of access to services.  With this new structure, TFC helps ensure the highest quality of care as well as ease of patient access to services, becoming a “one-stop-shop” for healthcare for the low-income, uninsured population of Henderson County.

In September 2009, the Flat Rock Family Health Services (Pardee-owned primary care practice) opened in our new facility.  And in June 2010, TFC began hosting the Bridges to Health collaborative project, a new model to provide a medical home and case management services for those who had extensively over-utilized the Pardee emergency department.