Physicians CareConnection Free Clinic Offers More than Healthcare
Each week, Physicians CareConnection provides much-needed healthcare to Central Ohioans with its Monday evening Medical and Dental Clinic located at the Columbus Public Health Department.
But outside of the critical healthcare services that the clinic provides, a special service is offered to patients the second Monday of every month thanks to a long-standing partnership with the Mid-Ohio Food Collective.
“We have a great relationship with them,” said Bibiana Lagos, the Administrative Coordinator for PCC. “They bring the food in boxes and we prepare a box for each patient. Every month it’s a little different, but they usually bring potatoes, onions, fruits, vegetables, sometimes snacks.”
Each week between 20 and 25 patients make medical or dental appointments at the PCC clinic. Once their appointment is complete, they are provided with a box of food.
“We communicate how many patients we have (to the food bank) and find out the size of the family and the ages of the family members,” Lagos said. “I send them the numbers on Friday and on Monday they deliver the food.”
Depending on the number of staff and volunteers working at the clinic each week, everyone pulls together to pack the individual boxes so that there is nothing that goes unused.
Physicians CareConnection, an affiliate of the Columbus Medical Association, is a volunteer-based, charitable organization that helps coordinate care for vulnerable adults in Central Ohio. Using a unique model of care coordination, PCC has achieved successful healthcare outcomes for high-risk, hard-to-reach populations.