No cash required for treatment at Cache clinic

LOGAN — Alma, 18, has a stomachache.

"We come here because it's the only clinic that will help us," said Alma's older sister, Maria, speaking through a Spanish translator. "Everyone else turned me away."

Immigrants from Mexico, Maria and her family have no health insurance and no means to pay for private care. They are among more than 2,100 patients who are served by the Cache Valley Community Health Clinic annually, their care provided free of charge by local practitioners.

"They pay good attention to us here," Maria said. "They are respectful and they treat us with dignity."

A service of Intermountain Healthcare, the Cache Valley Community Health Clinic is one of seven Intermountain Community Clinics in Utah. Intermountain likewise subsidizes 13 similar facilities from Ogden to St. George, providing nearly 250,000 free/low cost office visits per year.

"When I started volunteering here nine and a half years ago, I was shocked by what comes through the door — just stunned," Logan dentist Jeremy Ellis said. "There are worthy humanitarian efforts going on all around the world, but I see third world conditions right here in Logan. And that mother who is hungry? She's your neighbor. That little girl whose family has no money for a birthday cake? She's in your child's class at school. Recognizing that keeps you grounded. It helps you count your blessings."

Dr. Derrel Clarke, a Logan pediatrician, has volunteered at the clinic regularly since it opened 17 years ago.

"You know, when I went into medicine, it was because I wanted to do this sort of stuff," he said. "I make a good living, and I feel like I owe something for that. This is my salve."

"The Cache Valley Community Health Clinic is unique," said Intermountain communications specialist Debbie Ostrander, "in that our services are provided mostly by volunteers, all free of charge."

"When you come out of residency, you have all these high hopes, and you want to be able to help people," Providence physician Kevin Duke said. "Sometimes we lose sight of that in modern medicine, and you know, some people just need a break. The people we help here, a lot of them have just barely moved into the community. Many of them don't speak English, and the economy has people panicked. But there's such a good feeling here. It's nice to walk out of here knowing you helped someone."

Open on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6 p.m., the clinic operates on a first-come, first-served basis and offers basic physician services and dental care, health and nutrition education and community referrals. Specialty services like dermatology and women's health are provided on a rotating schedule and pharmacy vouchers are available to help fill prescriptions.