Need and Formation of the WFCA
For well over 20 years, volunteer providers and community members have organized to form free clinics across Washington State in an effort to meet the needs of their community and provide care for the uninsured and underserved among them. These concerned individuals had struggled with the problem of urgent and chronic health care needs that were simply not being met at conventional points of service within the Washington health safety net. Many individuals and communities across the state responded by organizing “free clinics” that provide services to those most in need. A Department of Health sponsored survey showed that these clinics provided medical and dental care worth $1 to $2 million in 2006. At a networking conference in late 2007, individuals representing 25 of these free medical and dental clinics determined that they needed a statewide association that would support networking, quality improvement and stability in free clinics.
There is a saying in the world of free clinics, “If you’ve seen one free clinic, you’ve seen ONE free clinic.” Free clinics range from tiny, once-a-week evening drop-in settings (in Leavenworth and Tacoma, for example) to large 5-day, appointment-based clinics (in Vancouver and Kennewick, for example). What they have in common is that they do not charge for their services and they depend on the dedication and commitment of volunteers from the community — doctors, nurses, youths, retirees, professionals, businesspeople — every contribution is important. These clinics are born of necessity, and quickly confront issues of service quality, record-keeping, volunteer recruitment, retention, and training, board development and of course, funding. Informal networking with other clinics has been their main way to address these issues, and the Washington Free Clinic Association now has the opportunity to facilitate direct networking and resource sharing. In the absence of a structured regulating body, clinics have been able to provide truly grassroots care to those most in need, but have struggled to access resources and information relevant to free clinic operations. The Washington Free Clinic Association (WFCA) was formed by the clinics with the primary goal of developing support services, including: the collection and dissemination of forms, best practices, a discussion forum and other networking and mutual sharing opportunities. The WFCA also has the opportunity to relieve individual clinics of the burden of organizing and hosting the annual networking conference by coordinating a collaborative approach to conference planning. The culture of free clinics is that people help people, and this extends beyond patient care to clinic to clinic sharing and assistance. The WFCA intends to function as the synapse of this network of individuals and organizations to establish direct channels of information sharing.
In addition to free clinic administrators and providers, the Department of Health was aware of the need for a statewide association. In fact, the Department of Health recognized the absence of an association as such an obstacle to quality care in the free clinic setting that they provided a contract to the unborn organization. With funds provided by the Department of Health, an association that was little more than an idea in the fall of 2007 is now an established entity. The Washington Free Clinic Association (WFCA) is incorporated as non-profit corporation with the state of Washington and is registered under Internal Revenue Code 501©(3) as a tax-exempt organization. As of September 2008, the WFCA has an elected 8-member board of trustees who are geographically representative of the clinic members whom they serve. Prior to this election, the initial 5-member board adopted financial policies and procedures, developed a financial management system, and created a directory of all free clinics in the state. Of the state’s 27 active free clinics, 20 have signed on as founding members, and the WFCA is currently in the process of recruiting associate members. The newly elected officers and board of trustees have embarked on a series of strategic planning sessions to give shape and assign activity to the association.