To receive care from Access Carroll, county residents must have a household income that is less than 200 percent of federal poverty guidelines. For example, a family of four must have annual income of no more than $42,400 to be eligible.
Access Carroll is one of several nonprofit organizations in the area that offer free or low-cost health care to the uninsured. Another is the Baltimore-based Shepherd's Clinic, where patients pay an hour's wage for an office visit. Those who are unemployed pay $9 at the time of the visit.
The Community Free Clinic in Hagerstown offers free services such as gynecologic, pediatric, podiatry, teen pregnancy, family planning and mental health care. And the Fairfield, Pa.-based Mission of Mercy offers a free mobile medical clinic (services include cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal and genitourinary care). It visits Reisterstown, Frederick, Mount Airy and Westminster.
The number of patients treated at Mission of Mercy's seven Maryland sites has increased over the past few years, said Linda Ryan, the organization's executive director.
Many people also turn to federally qualified health centers, which charge for services on a sliding scale. Others who are unemployed use such facilities as Access Carroll while awaiting eligibility for federal programs.
"It's a huge problem facing our nation," Black said about the gaps in health care.
More than 45 million Americans were uninsured in 2007, according to the most recent Census Bureau figures. That number was down slightly from the year before, but the number and percentage of people without medical insurance has increased over the past two decades. In Maryland, 761,000 were uninsured, according to the most recent numbers.
Because of the increase in patients, Access Carroll's operating expenses for the past quarter were about $80,000, an increase of about $15,000 from the previous six months.
Still, the nonprofit remains committed to serving 2,400 patients with services from 70 specialists and 200 clinical and clerical volunteers.
"It makes me feel good to be able to do it," said Dr. Charles Cummings, a cardiologist who has been volunteering his services at Access Carroll for nine months. "It's not a miracle of medicine but a miracle of the system - a lot of people in the business community donate money to this thing, and it helps to save lives."
