Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is a “free” medical clinic?
This is a medical clinic that requires no payment from patients/clients. The medical/health care staff are all volunteers except for the Clinical Manager. The range of services depend on who volunteers and what services appear to be most needed by the local community.
2. Who can use FernCare?
We are currently only seeing individuals between the ages of 19 through 64 years of age who are uninsured and have no other primary care provider. We are advising potential patients to apply for Medicaid. Very shortly we will begin requiring Medicaid denial letters as part of the admitting criteria. Our mission is to also serve the under insured but we have been overwhelmed with people who have no health/medical insurance of any kind. We define “under insured” as those with insurance policies that do not cover office visits. Our goal is to eventually open to the under insured but not at this time. This criteria can change with approval of the FernCare Board of Directors.
3. What clinic services are available now?
We currently provide non-emergency medical care that is, what would generally be provided by a family care physician. This includes lab testing, social work counseling, community resource access assistance, Prescription Assistance Program enrollment, in-depth counseling sessions and we dispense generic medication. The number of volunteers we have, patient need and the cost of the clinic sessions dictate what we offer and when we can offer services.
We do NOT provide obstetric/gynocological services, sexually transmitted infection diagnosis, mental health assistance beyond what is comfortable for a family/general practice physician or emergency care. There are NO controlled substances or narcotics on site.
4. How can I volunteer?
SEE Volunteer page. Please indicate if you would like to volunteer to work in the clinic or with the Board.
5. How can I donate money?
Send your check made out to FernCare, 459 E. 9 Mile Road, Ferndale, MI 48220 OR use PayPal here on the website homepage. ALL of the free clinics rely on donations, fund raising and grants to stay open. We are self-funded.
6. Can I attend a Board of Directors meeting?
Yes! We encourage people to come to the meetings to both meet the board and to stay current on our other projects and fund raising events.
The Board meets the 3rd Tuesday of every month at the clinic, 459 E. 9 Mile Road in Ferndale. Board meetings are from 7:30 to 9:00pm.
7. Why put a free clinic in Ferndale?
Need. That we frequently have to close our waiting list to new patients speaks to the number of people in our community that lack the resources to obtain medical care.
8. Is there any one place where health/medical resources are listed?
This would be an almost impossible feat. However, we have compiled a list of resources that we update regularly. You will find these on the Resources and Links pages of this site.
Additionally, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has published Help with Health Care – Resources for the Uninsured, a booklet available for downloading at bcbsm.com or by calling 313-255-9000.
9. I live outside of Oakland County. Are there other free clinics closer to my home?
The website www.fcomi.org has a locator page of every free medical clinic in Michigan. There may be a clinic closer than FernCare if you will outside of south Oakland county.
For any further information, use the Contact Us webpage.
