We have spent a great deal of time this year reflecting on the last 30 years and taking in just how far we have come. Arlington Free Clinic has changed and expanded its services many times over, always with high-quality, comprehensive patient care front of mind. Our volunteer program has been no different.
Starting in 1994 with borrowed space for clinic sessions and a borrowed basement for administrative work, we served 32 patients every Tuesday night. Volunteers — physicians and nurses included — transported everything that was needed to see those patients, then packed it all up again to go home at the end of the evening. Almost immediately it was clear that primary care once a week wasn’t going to come close to meeting the need. Soon, Thursdays were added for specialty care: gynecology, diabetes management, and eyecare. Today we rely on 350+ physicians, nurse practitioners, and other healthcare professionals, interpreters, and “lay” individuals to provide that care, and more. Not only are we supported by the onsite clinical volunteers, but we rely on a strong group of volunteers who help fundraise and connect us with the Arlington and surrounding communities.
AFC volunteers have been essential to getting us through some of the most tumultuous times in our 30-year history. Each time they have stepped up and accepted the mission set before them. They have always been willing (driven even!) to adapt and find creative solutions to a multitude of unique challenges only a free clinic would face. Volunteers have been, and will continue to be, the bedrock of our patient care.
As we celebrate this 30th Anniversary milestone, we are moving forward with more resources available to our patients than ever before. Having taken the time to set up those resources soundly, we can now integrate volunteers in supporting access. With staff trained on the new phone system and patients reporting consistent ease of use, we can work on revamping administrative volunteer roles at the front desk. With Epic firmly under our belts and eligibility staff feeling confident in all the workflows and data management, we can consider what roles volunteers can play in keeping our patients’ eligibility up to date. As we have learned more about the dental world and how care plans are set up and executed, our dental staff are identifying ways volunteers can support patient care and be a part of our next expansion of dental services. Most recently, we have leveraged funding to create a more robust training program for our volunteer interpreters. We now provide the most comprehensive and detailed onboarding materials for new interpreters that we have in 30 years. This investment will ensure that the patients and volunteers can communicate as seamlessly and as accurately as possible.
In the coming year we are excited to expand the way volunteers support us out in the community. With the launch of the AFC Ambassador Program, we are empowering volunteers aged 16 and older to represent AFC and its mission “in the wild.” Ambassadors serve as an extension of AFC in the community. Some will hold item drives to provide patients with the tools they need to look after their health, such as dental supplies, blood pressure cuffs, sunscreen, and grocery store gift cards. Some will represent AFC at speaking engagements, and some will seek out spaces, events, and publications to promote AFC in the community. We are looking forward to this new role, new opportunities, and new volunteers!
We are continuously grateful for the hard work and dedication of our volunteers that make free, high-quality, comprehensive healthcare available to our neighbors. And we are excited for the new volunteers who come through our doors each day bringing new passion, new energy, new ideas, and new perspectives to our operations and mission. Cheers to the next 30 years!