The Good Neighbor Clinic is much like any other primary care clinic with two exceptions. One: We see only people who are currently in the lower economic scale without any health insurance. And two: We don't charge. Care given at our clinic is free. We wish to restrict most of our care to patients who live in the areas from which most of our donations come from. This closely corresponds to the service area of the Sauk Prairie Memorial Hospital and Clinics service area.

We attend to the patients immediate medical needs. But we go further and assist them with their prescription needs and guide them to other free or low cost support or social services for which they maybe eligible. We arrange referrals for specialty care when needed. Our patients are responsible for any cost of care out side of our Clinic, but with us as their advocates they are often seen at no cost or at a significantly reduced charge.

We see patients for acute illnesses and we diagnose new found illnesses. We see many patients with known chronic illnesses and lapsed care. Often the histories are, "Yes Doc, I know I should take my diabetes pills, but I've run up some big doctor bills. I can't afford my medicine". Or "...I know I should be taking my Coumadin...my blood pressure pills...I know I should stop smoking..." and on and on. So many know they have an illness that should be treated, but they simply cannot afford the care. Other physicians help in referring patients to us who have come onto financial 'hard times'.

With empathy and one-on-one counseling we see the patient at a teachable moment. First we attend to the patients' initial concerns and then broaden the view to healthy life styles and the reduction of risk factors of the common causes of premature death and disability. This includes hand-outs of original printed material plus print-outs from other sources, i.e. material from the American Academy of Family Physicians' web site, www.familydoctor.org.

At the Good Neighbor Clinic not only physicians and nurses are given the opportunity to volunteer, but also those who come with other varied talents. We all feel blessed that we are given the opportunity to be of service at our Clinic. It is especially sweet to be involved in a project that has total community support

Haakon P. Carlson, M.D., Medical Director