A Message from Lesley Daigle, AFC CEO
We are so pleased to share with you the great work of our team during the 2024 fiscal year and the ways Arlington Free Clinic is responding to the needs of our community. In this anniversary edition of our annual report, we also take a moment to reflect more broadly on where we have come from and where we are going. Throughout its history, Arlington Free Clinic has provided access to high-quality healthcare to our neighbors who lack access to care. In our 30th year, we are securing our foundations to grow and meet the challenges of tomorrow in advancing health equity.
The areas of emphasis this year include staffing, capacity and partnerships. I am delighted to share that we have addressed our staffing shortages and are finding innovative ways to retain staff. We are investing in our team with professional development and training opportunities focused on building a culture centered on our core values. We also welcome three new leaders, Kennya Alvarado, Director of Clinical Services, Janet Truelove, Director of Clinical Administration and Operations, and Beth Gorman, Director of Development, who step in to carry on the mantle of three outgoing team members who served the Clinic well. Kennya, Janet, and Beth not only bring a wealth of leadership experience and expertise in their fields, but they also have a tremendous passion for AFC’s mission.
A second area of emphasis during this past year has been integrating our dental, mental health, and community resource navigation services into our comprehensive medical home model. These concentrated integration initiatives have been so successful that the resulting increase in referrals is driving a need to further expand these programs to better serve our patients. We are also re-evaluating our space needs and optimizing existing space. Working to build the resources we need to continue to retain staff and support the growing needs for services and space will be our principal areas of focus in the coming year.
Lastly, we know that AFC is stronger because of the relationships we have built with other partners in the safety net. In 2024, for example, we identified a need to explore innovative solutions to effective nutrition education. We participated in community-facing events with Arlington Thrive and Kitchen of Purpose that were aimed at providing access to low-cost, nutritious meal solutions for people in our community. In the year to come, we look forward to integrating nutrition education into all of our services. We also hope to address this critical “upstream” factor of food security and access to nutritious food by working with new partners in the community to provide this education to people beyond our patient population. By collaborating with others to advocate for services with a county-wide impact, we support our mission to advance health equity and contribute to the ultimate goal of preventing health conditions before
they begin.
We thank you in advance for taking the time to reflect on this report and the stories and statistics contained on its pages. And we hope you will continue to partner with us and be part of our next 30 years of service to the Arlington community.