State's Largest Free Health Clinic Pinched by Economy

HALL COUNTY, Ga. -- There are 25,000 people in Hall County who are living without health insurance. Robert Sanders is one of them. Last year, Sanders lost his job as a truck driver due to problems with his health that include inflammation in his eye and chronic arthritis.

"That's something that hits hard when you're so used to working your whole life," said Sanders.

Sanders said it was difficult to turn to charity, but he found he had few other options. He turned to Gainesville's Good News Clinic. "They set up your testing that's free. They sent me for a CAT scan last week. They're good about taking care of things."

The clinic, which gets no governmental funding, has seen an influx of 200 new patients a month, many of them people who have lost their jobs and health coverage.

"When I first came I was seeing maybe five or six patients a day," said volunteer physician Dr. Jerry Filardi. "Now I'm seeing more like ten to twelve."

Dr. Filardi is one of the physicians who volunteers his time there. Two additional physicians and two dentists have stepped forward to volunteer in an attempt to keep up with the growing demand.

But the financial donations that keep Good News have dropped off to the tune of $200,000 over the past year.

"If it continues, we're going to have to either cut back on services or look at our costs," said Executive Director Cheryl Christian. "We're doing some cutbacks now, trying to streamline as much as possible."

The medical community has responded with a unique fundraising idea. Thirty-nine dentists have volunteered to offer teeth whitening at $250 each during the months of April and May. All of the money will go to the Good News Clinic.

Since opening in 1993, Good News has never turned a patient away. A growing number of people are hoping they don't start now.