Just off Highway 67 on Commerce Street, sit two red brick buildings. During the day, cars and trucks of all sorts enter and leave the parking lot as people come and go from the buildings. It’s a quiet scene on a quiet street. Nothing out of the ordinary to see. Someone driving past might not even notice the people, the cars, or the buildings.
But if you happen to look more closely, you’d notice a sign that says Open Arms Free Clinic. That sign is the first clue that there might be more to these two buildings than meets the eye.
In fact, inside the medical and dental clinic buildings, an amazing story plays out. A story of people getting the healthcare they need and deserve. A story of a place where people are better able to take care of their families. A story of contributing to a healthy workforce. And a story of people contributing to a thriving community and reaping the benefits through improved quality of life.
It’s a story of providing health care to human beings who need and deserve that care, and the ways in which that service affects the entire community.
MEETING HEALTHCARE NEEDS
The two buildings on Commerce Street house Open Arms Free Clinic (OAFC), the only free clinic in the area. Since 2012, the clinic has been meeting the health and wellness needs of the uninsured, low-income, and underserved residents of Walworth County. Patients who qualify receive health care at no cost, from providers who deliver care with dignity and respect.
The buildings might look small from the street, but this is not a small operation. In January 2024, more than 1,000 people walked through the front doors of the clinic. As the months of 2024 passed, the people kept coming; more than 1,000 patient visits were recorded each month.
By November, the number of patient visits for the month exceeded 1,400 and the clinic was on track to log more than 12,000 patient visits by the end of 2024.
Twelve-thousand is a substantial number. When people in the community hear this, they are often surprised by this statistic. Some aren’t even aware that Walworth County has a free clinic. Some know of the clinic’s existence but are surprised by the volume of patients who visit the clinic each month.
After learning about Open Arms Free Clinic and the volume of patient visits each month, one question is on nearly everyone’s mind, “Who does the clinic serve?”
THE PATIENT ALWAYS COMES FIRST
The answer to that question is complex and nuanced. When a patient receives healthcare at OAFC, the interaction between patient and clinician is only the beginning. Like a pebble dropped into a still pond, the effects of that encounter ripple outwards and touch many members of the community in many ways.
At OAFC, the clinic serves its patients first. Patients come for medical care. For routine check-ups and treatment for common illnesses, for cancer screenings, and for help managing chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension. They come for lab tests and to pick up prescription medications, and they come for help when they need an MRI or to see a specialist for a more complex medical issue.
They come for dental care and behavioral health care too. They come for x-rays, dental exams, and routine cleanings. They come for help with pain from cavities that need filling and teeth that need pulling. And they come for the kind of pain you can’t see from the outside. They come for help with anxiety and depression, and they come for help managing the curveballs that life has thrown them.
Every day, the clinic staff and volunteers meet the patients where they are and move them along to better health. At OAFC, the patients always come first.
THE RIPPLE EFFECT
While the patients come first, the impact doesn’t stop there. When Open Arms serves its patients, it’s also serving the patients’ families. Healthy family members can better care for one another and provide the love and support all human beings need to survive and thrive. A healthy father can cook a nutritious meal for his family. A healthy grandmother can help her grandson with his homework and cheer on her granddaughter at her soccer game. A healthy daughter can help her aging parents with laundry and grocery shopping.
When OAFC provides healthcare for its patients, entire families benefit.
When OAFC serves its patients, it’s also supporting the workforce of Walworth County. Approximately 75% of clinic patients are between the ages of 18 and 65, and more than 80% of those patients are employed. OAFC patients are the workforce of Walworth County. They are employed at restaurants, hotels, and retail stores. They work at manufacturing and health care facilities. They work in agriculture and construction. They are landscapers and hair stylists and fill hundreds of other service roles in the community.
Businesses in Walworth County rely on a healthy, robust workforce to flourish. Healthy workers are reliable and productive workers. When the workforce is populated by healthy individuals, hotel rooms get cleaned, grocery store shelves get stocked, garden beds sprout beautiful flowers, a leaky roof is replaced, and online orders get picked and shipped with peak efficiency.
When OAFC provides healthcare for its patients, the employers of Walworth County benefit.
When OAFC serves its patients, it’s also serving the community members who rely on businesses in the community to provide goods and services. When the community has successful businesses, community members can shop locally for groceries and other essentials. Existing businesses thrive and empty storefronts turn into new businesses. More tax revenue allows local governments to provide more services and the community becomes a more attractive place to work and live for all.
When OAFC provides healthcare for its patients, quality of life for the entire community benefits.
SERVING THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY
Just off Highway 67 in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, on Commerce Street, sit two red brick buildings, home to Open Arms Free Clinic. Each month, the clinic records over 1,000 patient visits. Month after month, uninsured, hard-working residents of Walworth County get the health care they need and deserve from staff and volunteers who deliver that care with dignity and respect.
When that care is provided, and patients are served, it sets off a chain reaction that ripples out to serve the entire community. People are healthier and better able to take care of their families. Healthier people and families contribute to a more robust workforce. A robust workforce helps businesses thrive, and everyone in the community experiences a better quality of life.
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