ST. GEORGE — St. George doctors are volunteering to provide free healthcare for Southern Utah.
The Doctors Volunteer Clinic located at 1036 E Riverside Drive is a nonprofit, non-government organization that provides access to health services for uninsured, underinsured and low-income families.
They provide primary and specialty medical care, mental health services and dental care at no cost to their patients.
Dr. Paul Doxey, the chairman of the board of directors, explained that when the group first opened the clinic, Washington County had nearly double the number of uninsured individuals who lack access to typical healthcare services compared with the Wasatch Front.
Paul said that when the clinic first started in 1999, doctors saw about 300 patients per month.
“Now we’re seeing around 1,100 a month,” Paul said. “We’ve caught cancers in people that would not have gone to the doctor that would’ve been fatal and we’ve prevented suicides.”
When the group initially came together, they were treating patients out of the Dixie Care and Share Homeless Shelter.
In 2002, they moved out of the homeless shelter and into their current clinic. Land and labor were donated for the whole operation but the clinic grew quickly and more space was needed.
In 2011, they received a donation from the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation that covered the expansion of the building. The Southern Utah Home Builders Association came with volunteer builders to double the size of the clinic and add on a mental health wing.
Paul’s wife, Janet Doxey, also sits on the board of directors for the clinic and expressed how much the community has had an impact on the clinic.
“It really is a whole community effort,” she said. “It’s way more than just the people who work here. We wouldn’t be able to do it without community support.”
Much of the equipment and furnishings have been donated as well.
The doctors partner with other local healthcare to help provide patients with any lab work, X-rays or other specialized treatments they may need.
Since the clinic does not charge the patients, the doors continue to stay open by way of fundraisers, donations and grants.
“We don’t get any money from the federal government, we live on donations and grants,” Paul said. “We have 35 doctors that volunteer here for free.”
In addition to the doctors, there are also five dentists and three psychiatrists who volunteer at the clinic, which is always looking for more volunteers.
The rest of the staff is made up of student volunteers from Southern Utah University and Utah Tech University as well as students working on their clinical rotations from Rocky Vista, Rocky Mountain PA and Utah Valley University PA.
The clinic is open Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and Friday 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
More information about the Doctors Volunteer Clinic can be found on their website.
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