INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The Indian River County Medical Society (IRCMS) Foundation is pleased to announce it has received a $20,000 grant from the Dorothea Leonhardt Fund of Communities Foundation of Texas through the assistance of Dick and Diana Stark of Vero Beach and grant recommendation advisor, Joanne Leonhardt Cassulo. These funds will support the creation of a new “We Care” Clinic. The Starks have a long-standing history of philanthropy to help low income residents of Indian River County through many venues.
The “We Care” program, founded in 1991, provides donated medical services to an average 1,859 Indian River County residents each year (average over the past six years). In addition to medical services, Volunteer Physicians also provide radiological and surgical procedures (689 radiological services and surgical procedures were also performed in 2013). In recent years, volunteer physicians have donated services valued at over $1,000,000 annually. Without the “We Care” program, many indigent residents in Indian River County would go without necessary medical care.
The IRCMS Foundation is currently raising funds to renovate space at the Gifford Health Center for a “We Care” Clinic with four exam rooms. In 2014, the Indian River County Hospital District approved an increased funding for “We Care” staffing to include a full-time primary care physician, an LPN and two Health Techs, in addition to the Coordinator and Indigent Drug Program Clerk.
Fundraising for the “We Care” Clinic combined with approved funding by the Hospital District for staff salaries, positions the “We Care” program to offer better care for indigent residents of the county compared to the existing system. The “We Care” program anticipates an increase in primary care patients in 2015 due to Health Department budget cuts. A full-time primary care physician will help service the anticipated increase and provide new options for indigent patient care following hospital discharge. Additional sources of funding include proceeds from the annual IRCMS Foundation Mardi Gras Celebration held on March 2, other fundraising events, grants, and donations.
“The volunteer physicians are very grateful to the Starks and the many other members of our community who are making a difference as we seek to improve medical services to those who would otherwise do without,” said Dennis F. Saver, MD, President of the IRCMS Foundation and Chair of the IRCMS We Care and Public Health Committee. “This donation from the Dorthea Leonhardt Fund is a major boost towards the creation of a dedicated We Care clinic, which will be the springboard to expanded services.”
To learn more about the “We Care” program, clinic renovation project, fundraising events or to make a donation, visit www.WeCareOfIRC.org.