SHARE Clinic nets grant funds

The SHARE (Supporting Healthcare Access Resources for Everyone) Clinic in Sparta recently received a grant from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust in the amount of $71,872. Of that amount, the clinic will receive $40,439 in calendar year 2006 and $31,433 in 2007.

The grant was approved by the trust's Healthcare Division Advisory Board, said Robin Musick, clinic director. Musick said the funds will be used to expand clinic hours to provide medical care for more uninsured and underinsured members of the community, as well as assisting more individuals in obtaining prescription medications.

The clinic's annual budget is $287,916—meaning the grant only pays a small portion of the actual costs of operating the reduced fee medical facility.

Even so, the clinic plans to use the money to expand its patient population instead of paying existing costs.

"We're trying to use this money to serve more people," said Musick.

"There really is a great need out there."

The clinic currently serves about 850 individuals, said Musick. Of those, about 95 percent are Alleghany County residents.

The clinic has helped save its patients $21,395.82 since Aug. 1 of this year alone, said Musick. "That's money that they would have either had to take out of their meager budgets or medicines they would have had to have done without," she said.

The SHARE Clinic first opened its doors to the public Nov. 1, 2003.

"Our organization has served the uninsured and underinsured populations of Alleghany County and its surrounding communities for nearly three years."

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