OXFORD — The Oxford Free Clinic is providing healthcare services to those who cannot afford healthcare with the help of 40 volunteer nurses and doctors.

According to Marilyn Sasser, the executive director at the clinic, the free clinic serves residences of Preble County if they live in the townships of Washington, Dixon, Gasper, Lanier, Israel, Somers, or Gratis.

The clinic is run three Wednesdays of the month, the first Wednesday of the month the clinic runs out of McCullough Hyde Hospital in Oxford. The second Wednesday, a women’s clinic is run at the hospital and the third Wednesday of the month a clinic is run from the Frist United Presbyterian Church in College Corner, Ohio.

According to Sasser the clinic began in 2005 when a small group of nurses and doctors noticed residents of Preble and Butler county had few options for healthcare, especially for residences in below the poverty line.

“The needs assessment discovered that there was a startling lack of primary health series available to uninsured and under-insured residents in our area” said Sasser.

Sasser said the clinic concentrates on patients who have chronic conditions from age 18 to 64 who do not have insurance and live at or below 200 percent of the poverty line.

Sasser explained many of these patients who do not have insurance use emergency rooms as their primary physician since they are unable to receive treatment from other places. According to her by offering the free clinic the hospital and insurance payers save money as there are less unpaid emergency room bills.

The clinic pays for 90 percent of the medication costs to people who use the free clinic. The clinic however does not provide pain medication according to Sasser but helps provide medication for people with conditions like Diabetes, Hypertension, Congestive Heart Failure and others.

Sasser said the clinic can help people with common medical issues like the flu and cold but since the clinic is only offered three days a month those patients may be better served seeking medical attention in a timelier manner.

The clinics are open at 4:30 p.m. for registration and the clinic will see 16 patients on a given night. Appointments can be scheduled by calling 513-524-5426 before 5:30 p.m. Patients will be seen between 6-8 p.m. the night of the clinics and will be seen by either a doctor of nurse practitioner.

The clinic does not receive any government funds and is a non-profit organization dependent on volunteers and donations. Those interested in volunteering should contact Marylyn Sasser at 513-524-5426.