Mission Frankfort Clinic

The Mission Frankfort Clinic was founded in 2002 by the First Baptist Church, Frankfort, Kentucky. The dental clinic started in September of 2002 with medical and pharmacy services beginning in 2004 respectively. Each service has grown dramatically as more and more persons deal with the reality of no health insurance and the struggle of rising medical care costs. The mission of MFC is to provide basic medical, dental and pharmaceutical care to the uninsured of Franklin County. 

The dental clinic offers free dental services to uninsured patients with dental needs. Patients have received a variety of services such as fillings, extractions, root canals, cleanings, and dentures. The dentists, dental assistants, and dental hygienists volunteer their time and expertise. Patients are screened for eligibility through the Franklin County Health Department. Patients are then placed on a waiting list and prioritized by level of need. Children with no dental insurance are also given priority. 

When patients arrive at the clinic they are assessed by the dentist, x-rays are taken if needed, and the dentist develops a treatment plan. The treatment plan is then used by a variety of volunteer dentist to care for the needs of the patient. Some dentists prefer to serve patients at no cost in their offices by referral from the MFC. 

The focus of the medical clinic is to assists uninsured persons with chronic disease. When the medical clinic first began, the clinic opened on two evenings a month for two hours at a time. During the summer of 2004, the clinic began opening once a week. Currently, the medical clinic is open each Wednesday evening and an additional Saturday clinic once a month. Patients are screened and scheduled through the Franklin County Health Department. All services are free of charge to our patients. 

As patients arrive for their appointments, they are greeted by volunteers from First Baptist Church. Nurses then triage each patient by checking vital signs and updating medical history. The patient is then seen by a doctor. All doctors and nurses are volunteers, and most clinics have two or three doctors and two or three nurses are available to serve the needs of the uninsured. 

The most common conditions treated in clinic patients are hypertension, diabetes, muscular or skeletal pain, and high cholesterol. These ailments may be very debilitating to persons unable to afford medical care due to no insurance or limited financial resources. The rising costs of medical care for the uninsured cause financial devastation in addition to the helplessness of no access to affordable healthcare. 

MFC began operation of a free pharmacy in November 2004. It is our belief that providing adequate health care to those in need means that patients are able to obtain the medications prescribed by the doctor. The pharmacy is open each Wednesday evening for new prescriptions and refills for existing patients. Each pharmacist is licensed and provides educational information for patients as they receive new prescriptions. 

Each week prescriptions are filled for patients. The majority of medications dispensed at the pharmacy are received through Patient Assistance Programs (PAP) provided by pharmaceutical companies. Each patient is assisted and guided through the process to receive medications from various pharmaceutical companies. Patients are also provided with sample medications, when available, to allow patients to begin treatment immediately until the prescribed medication arrives from the pharmaceutical company. Generic medications are also available to patients at the pharmacy, and these medications are now being donated by Wayne’s Pharmacy in Frankfort to provide assistance to those not available to pay for generic medications.