Sentara & Optima Donate $1.5 Million to VAFCC

• By: VAFCC
• On: 03/01/2019 10:41:58
• In: News

Sentara Healthcare and Optima Health made history with their gift of $1.5 million to the Virginia Association of Free & Charitable Clinics (VAFCC). The largest single donation in the nonprofit organization's 25-year history, this leadership gift supported Medicaid expansion efforts in free clinics across the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Long awaited, the expansion of Medicaid in January 2019 provided healthcare coverage for low-income Virginians – many for the first time in their lives. With an estimated 400,000 eligible Virginians, this support came at a critical time for the Association and its member clinics as they began to implement activities and strategies in response to Medicaid's expansion.

While the approval of Medicaid in Virginia provides health insurance, the need to ensure access to and continuity of care is immediate and vital in some areas of the state. Recognizing provider shortages, some clinics are becoming “hybrid” providers, accepting Medicaid-enrolled patients while also continuing to treat low-income uninsured patients.

Acknowledging the monumental effort and resources required for clinics to become Medicaid providers, Sentara and Optima Health directed a significant portion of this funding to support “hybrid” clinic infrastructure including:

• Bradley Free Clinic in Roanoke, VA
• Brock Hughes Medical Center in Wytheville, VA
• CrossOver Healthcare Ministry in Richmond, VA
• Fauquier Free Clinic in Warrenton, VA
• Free Clinic of Central Virginia in Lynchburg, VA
• Gloucester Mathews Care Clinic in Gloucester, VA
• Lloyd F. Moss Free Clinic in Fredericksburg, VA
• Northern Neck-Middlesex Free Health Clinic in Kilmarnock, VA
• Shenandoah Community Health Clinic in Woodstock, VA
• Dr. Terry Sinclair Health Clinic in Winchester, VA
• Western Tidewater Free Clinic in Suffolk, VA

Funding also supported VAFCC member clinics in their outreach and education efforts to enroll the newly Medicaid eligible around the state. The newly eligible are adults ages 19-64 whose incomes fall within 138% of the federal poverty line (e.g. $17,237 for a single adult or $29,436 for a family of three). If you think you might be eligible for new health coverage for adults, visit www.CoverVA.org.

A strong advocate for health equity, VAFCC has been leading the healthcare safety net in Virginia for more than 25 years by bringing healthcare leaders, businesses, community members, and other stakeholders together to ensure Virginia's underserved have access to quality healthcare.

“We are so appreciative of Sentara and Optima Health for recognizing the need and making this gift to support Virginia's healthcare safety net during this transitory time,” reports VAFCC CEO Linda Wilkinson. “This partnership with Sentara and Optima Health is an incredibly generous demonstration of their shared commitment to the underserved in Virginia as well as their understanding of the critical role Virginia's free and charitable clinics play in the overall health of Virginia.”

VAFCC is dedicated to supporting, strengthening, and advocating for Virginia's free and charitable clinics as they deliver quality healthcare to Virginia's underserved residents.