Free Medical Clinic, Lions Club partner for free vision screenings
The Free Medical Clinic of Darlington County and the Lions Club of Darlington have partnered to provide Darlington County residents with free vision screenings.
Members of the Lions Club will provide the free screenings at the Darlington Free Clinic at 203 Grove St., Darlington, the third Wednesday of each month from 1-4 p.m. The first screening date will be Wednesday, July 17.
The screenings are available to anyone in Darlington County, but space is limited, so an appointment is required. To make an appointment, contact the clinic at 843-398-0060.
The screenings are not a complete eye exam; however the screening will alert the individual that a more complete eye exam is recommended. Patients of the Free Medical Clinic, Hartsville or Darlington sites, who need a complete eye exam, will have an optometric exam scheduled for them at no cost.
The Free Medical Clinic’s clinical coordinator, Krissy Huntley, PA-C, says, “Vision screenings provide a valuable tool in preventing eye related complications associated with diabetes, hypertension and auto-immune disorders, and the clinic is proud to offer this additional service.”
In other efforts to break down barriers to the uninsured residents of Darlington County receiving medical care, the clinic has established several additional partnerships.
The clinic has partnered with the McLeod Mobile Mammography unit to visit the Darlington Clinic Aug. 29 and the Hartsville Clinic Sept. 16. The unit will provide up to 30 free mammographies to eligible women on each date.
In conjunction with the mammography unit, the clinic will be providing additional women’s health screenings to its patients. A few spots remain, so please contact the clinic for more information.
The clinic has also partnered with Pee Dee Mental Health, S.C. Vocational Rehab and Pee Dee Regional Transportation to assist patients in areas the clinic does not serve. Both Vocational Rehab and Pee Dee Mental Health will soon provide care to clinic patients and other Darlington area clients at the Free Clinic’s Darlington location to lessen the burden of multiple appointments in multiple cities.
To further lessen the transportation barrier, PDRTA and the Free Clinic have partnered to provide free transportation for Darlington patients to and from specialists in Florence, as well as McLeod Regional Medical Center and MUSC Florence. Hartsville patients can already ride, free of charge, the HART shuttle throughout Hartsville including to Pee Dee Mental Health, Vocational Rehab and Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center.
According to the Free Medical Clinic’s executive director, Steve Edwards, “Lack of transportation has been a major barrier for our clients to get to necessary appointments with the specialist providers and hospitals in Florence. We are excited about this new service and these other new partnerships. We feel they will greatly expand the quality of care the Free Clinic provides its patients.”
The Free Medical Clinic is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing free primary care to uninsured adults in Darlington County. The clinic has offices at 203 Grove St., Darlington, and at 500 West Carolina Avenue, Hartsville. The clinic can be reached at 843-398-0060 in Darlington and 843-332-0422 (Hartsville).