Published on Wednesday, February 3, 2010 by NBC News - Connecticut

As House and Senate Fumble Health Reform, Free Clinics Still Serving the Uninsured Sick

Massive Health Clinic for Uninsured Comes to Hartford

by Chris Ayotte and Jeff Stoecker

In New Orleans, health care providers with Communities Are Responding Everyday treated 1,000 patients. In Houston, they saw 1,700. On Wednesday, they will be caring for people in Hartford.

When the only requirement is that patients 'have no medical insurance' the lines are sure to be long. (Getty image)

div>The C.A.R.E. Clinic is a one-day event, where you can get free health care for all types of medical issues.

"Many people are forced to make tough choices between putting food on the table or paying rent on the one hand and getting needed medical treatment on the other," according to the National Association of Free Clinics executive director Nicole Lamoureux. "We hold large C.A.R.E. Clinics not only to provide immediate care to many uninsured people but also to connect them with the free clinics and other safety-net providers that can offer them care on an ongoing basis."

As the people of C.A.R.E have cared for others, they have found that 90 percent of the patients they are seeing have three or more life threatening conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension, that are going untreated and many haven't seen a doctor for five or more years.

The only requirement to attend is that you have no health insurance.

"Eighty three percent of our patients have a job, so we wanted to highlight the face of the uninsured knowing that uninsured doesn't equal unemployed," Lamoureux said.

You can check out the C.A.R.E. Clinic at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford from noon until 7 p.m. Call 1-877-233-5159 to set up an appointment. Medical and non-medical volunteers are still needed.

While the future of health care is being debated in Washington, D.C. this clinic is a non-partisan event.

"The clinic is not meant to promote anyone's political agenda and political activity at the event will not be permitted," Lamoureux said.

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