Photo courtesy of Anton on Unsplash
The Highmark Foundation awarded a $60,000 grant to Western Berks Free Medical Clinic to support its recently opened satellite clinic in the city of Reading. The funding will support plans to double the number of uninsured individuals receiving services by maintaining a second clinic location inside Mary’s Shelter, 615 Kenhorst Blvd. The site was selected for its proximity to the majority of medically underserved adults in Berks County.
Opened in August of this year, the Reading clinic is expected to ramp up to accommodate an additional 100 patients monthly for primary care, women’s care, and chronic disease management.
The Highmark Foundation, a private charitable organization headquartered in Pittsburgh, provides funding to healthcare organizations that improve outcomes for residents and communities served by Highmark, Inc. and its affiliates.
The Foundation’s grant recognizes the challenges faced every day by the Clinic as a safety net provider for adults without health insurance, especially those in the city without transportation to the Clinic’s other location in Robesonia.
Under the direction of an all-volunteer board, more than 100 community volunteers and three part-time staff members have provided healthcare services through more than 10,000 encounters since the Clinic opened its doors in 2002.
For further information about Western Berks Free Medical Clinic, please visit our website at https://berkfmd.com or call Greg Colahan, Executive Director at 610-693-6207 or [email protected].
The Highmark Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) private charitable organization dedicated to improving the health, well-being, and quality of life of individuals who reside in the communities served by Highmark, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. We fulfill our mission by awarding high-impact grants to charitable organizations that implement evidence-based programs aimed at improving community health. Central to the Foundation’s mission is identifying and continuously reevaluating our region’s prevailing healthcare needs. By doing so, the Foundation remains at the forefront of those needs, well-equipped to pinpoint the issues that more urgently need support.
In 2021, two new restricted funds were established at the Highmark Foundation – the Highmark West Virginia Charitable Fund for Health and the United Concordia Dental Charitable Fund. These funds support the ongoing work of the Highmark Foundation across its footprint and beyond.
For more information, visit www.highmarkfoundation.org and follow the Highmark Foundation on LinkedIn.
