The NAFC 2019 Charitable Health Care Symposium was held on October 27-29 in beautiful Atlanta, Georgia at the Loews Atlanta. The Symposium is an annual conference specifically designed to address the issues and topics that safety-net clinics, charitable pharmacies, organizations, staff and volunteers face on a daily basis to address the needs of the nation's medically underserved.
NAFC Blog
Texas communities are once again dealing with severe flooding due to Tropical Depression Imelda’s heavy rains.
This week, we'd like to highlight stories out of Arlington Free Clinic. The clinic's patients often face various and complex barriers to healthcare, and the clinic is deeply committed to addressing social determinants of health and systemic issues that prevent quality health care. Arlington is a recipient of the NAFC - CVS Health Foundation Coordinated Care Grant to address social determinants of health, which has been critically important to its patients.
Ramadan began this past Sunday, May 5, which means our Muslim patients and providers will be fasting from sunrise to sunset for the next month. Islam is currently the 3rd most common religion in the United States, with 3-4 million members, and the NAFC serves 20 Muslim clinics. Ahead of Ramadan, Dr. Yosef Khan, National Director for Healthcare Quality Research and Bioinformatics with the National Heart Association, led a webinar for NAFC members about culturally competent care of Muslim patients on behalf of the Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA).
“It started with a pingpong ball of a cyst in my left breast. I had no insurance. I was afraid of doctors. I was hoping and wishing it would just go away.” When Diane first found out about Family Health Partnership Clinic from one of its volunteer doctors, it had been over 10 years since she’d been to a doctor.
Last week, Kaiser Health reported on the difficulty of finding California’s homeless a place to heal and the difficulty of discharging after a new state law requires hospitals to try to find a safe bed with transportation for homeless patients. The article reports that one woman had to sleep in her car the night she was discharged for her double mastectomy.
Today was another busy day in Washington regarding healthcare. Late last night, the Department of Justice announced that it would side with a Texas district court’s 2018 ruling that found the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional, meaning it backs overturning the whole law. There are major concerns with this position, including the removal of protections for people with pre-existing conditions with no plan in place for them.
Yesterday, the CDC released a data briefing with statistics about strategies used by adults to reduce prescription drug costs. The report found that the strategies were most commonly practiced among the uninsured compared with those with private insurance or Medicaid...
Last week, our 13-member Board of Directors, led by Board Chair Dr. Bobby Kapur, met on Tuesday to discuss the future of the NAFC and how we can best serve our members and our patients throughout the country.
2018 has been another busy year for the NAFC and our members! As 2018 comes to a close, we wanted to take a moment to provide an overview of the work we have accomplished throughout the year.