Biddeford Free Clinic

The Biddeford Free Clinic was founded in 1993 as the first free clinic in Maine, has been providing high quality healthcare and non-narcotic prescription medications to their patients for free. The Clinic’s patients are people who have no health insurance and cannot afford to pay for their healthcare or medications themselves.

grantwinners.net has been working with the Clinic since 2004. During that time we have seen the Clinic achieve its mission, “to provide accessible and free outpatient general medical care and non-narcotic medication to adults and children who have no medical insurance and cannot afford private medical care” through the medical clinic and on-site pharmacy. The Clinic is the only free clinic in Maine with an on-site pharmacy, providing an especially important service for their patients with troubles finding transportation.

With the support of grant funding, the Clinic expanded their mission-driven programs, providing wellness programming and support for patients living with pulmonary disease or problems with hypertension, and for those living with diabetes. In 2010, the Clinic also opened the Dental Wellness Center to provide free dental care for their patients.

“We couldn’t do any of this without our volunteers,” notes Joan Gordon, executive director of the Clinic since 2001. “The doctors, pharmacists, nurses, medical technologists, medical students, and almost all the administrative staff volunteer their services—valued at well over $1 million—so we can give the highest quality care to our patient for free.”

Community partnerships have been instrumental in the Clinic’s success. Southern Maine Medical Center, the University of New England’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, and SMMC PrimeCare Physician Services are just a few of the local organizations who provide volunteers, referral partnerships, and in-kind donations. Gordon notes, “We couldn’t do our work without them.”

After determining there were enough free and reduced healthcare options in the Biddeford area, the Biddeford Free Clinic closed their doors in 2015. They were able to find new medical homes for their regular patients before closing.