The mission is to help those who have no other options.
For 23 years, largely with help from volunteer doctors, the Health For All clinic in Bryan has been carrying out that work at the direction of its founder, Dr. Karim Haji.
Roy Sandifer, who suffers from Type 2 diabetes, said he probably wouldn't be alive if it weren't for the medical attention he receives at the small clinic in the shadows of St. Joseph Regional Health Center in Bryan.
"I lost my insurance when I was laid off from A&M," he said. "I took another job as a security guard full-time, but the company doesn't have insurance."
To combat the illness, doctors have prescribed a cocktail of three types of insulin and three pills -- a mixture the man who cares for his 70-year-old mother could never afford on a salary of about $22,000 and no health insurance.
Patients of the clinic are low-income and cannot have any form of health insurance or qualify for government health care programs.
Each year, more than 4,000 patients in the Brazos Valley are served by the clinic and the fewer than 30 doctors that volunteer there.
Directors of the clinic said needs are reaching critical levels for more doctors, as demand is continually increasing and some of the steady volunteers recently have retired and moved away from the community.
"All we're asking is for them to be here for one three-hour clinic, once a month," said Derek Dictson, executive director of Health For All. "They can obviously do more, but just once a month would be great."
Barry Norwood is a physician assistant who lives in both Austin and College Station and has volunteered at Health For All at least once a week for the past seven years.
In Austin, he volunteers at the homeless clinic and sought out Bryan's clinic seven years ago when his "true love" went back to school at Texas A&M to become a veterinarian. The couple spends weekends in Bryan-College Station now.
"You know the cliché 'it takes a village,' well, it really takes a community working together to look out for each other," he said. "I do my small part. If I didn't have any other options, I'd want someone to reach out and say 'I'm here to help you, you're not alone.'"
All sorts of doctors are needed at the clinic, Dictson said.
Family practice doctors, physician assistants, optometrists, podiatrists, nurses, dentists, diagnostic radiologists, cardiologists, dermatologists, obstetricians, gynecologists, internists, rheumatologists, psychiatrists and dietitians are the greatest needs.
Texas A&M provides a lot of volunteers to the clinic through its medical school students, who can sign up to participate in rotations there.
The students, about 200 who rotate through, are overseen by a doctor during the patient visits.
"It's a very popular program because it's first- and second-year students," said Lisa Chapa, the lead medical student representative. "When you sign up to be a doctor, you don't think about sitting in the library for two years. So the students are eager for the chance to get out and learn hands-on."
Anyone interested in volunteering services for the clinic can start by contacting Health For All at 774-4272.
"Obviously, you don't volunteer in a free clinic for the glamour," Norwood said. "It's something you feel like you ought to do. I don't think some people realize how little it entails to volunteer and how great the need really is."
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