John and Mary Lou Auxier cared about the people around them. They were moved to compassion when they realized that the rural and minority, low-income and uninsured residents in their area couldn’t afford medical care. So, in 2010, they decided to help them by launching the Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge, in the heart of Appalachia.
John mobilized an army of compassionate medical and non-medical volunteers to help neighbors in need. It all started in Oak Ridge but soon grew today by providing multiple locations, including our Mobile Clinic Unit and Medical Events, to serve families and partners in the surrounding counties. Since that day, FMC has provided over 75,000 patient encounters and millions of dollars worth of primary and medical care to community members.
John passed away on Thursday, August 27, 2020 and Mary Lou followed on, June 8, 2024. We will miss both of our beloved Founders and consider it an honor to carry on their legacy in helping people with unmet medical needs. Join their dream by giving or volunteering ta FMC today.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BIRTH OF THE FREE MEDICAL CLINIC
OUR MISSION
To provide no charge primary care for the low-income and uninsured residents of Anderson, Morgan, and Roane Counties of Tennessee.
OUR VISION
To become a best-in-class clinic for the underserved as an exceptional PROVIDER, LEADER of excellence, and community CONTRIBUTOR.
Our Guiding Principles:
Everyone should have access to healthcare
Our patients should be treated with respect, dignity, and their care protected with the highest of confidentiality
Our patients should have opportunities for health education and take personal responsibility for their health
Who can receive no charge primary care?
We exist for the 14,000 residents in Anderson, Morgan, and Roane Counties in TN that are low-income and uninsured. Anyone meeting the eligibility can receive our no charge primary care services. FMC is the only healthcare many of our neighbors have to help them with their medical care. We love helping people. Register as a patient here!
What does FMC provide to patients?
FMC provides everything a regular primary clinic provides and a little more. Including: Telehealth options, access to free or discounted medications, special medical programs such as Hep C, Women’s Health, medical treatments, imaging, tests, lab work, and preventative care with annual physicals. All of this at no charge to the patient. We love taking care of our patients.
How does FMC provide no charge care?
The FMC approach is made up of a mix of paid and volunteer personnel and with the dynamic community engagement and collaboration of our partners. Over 650 volunteers will help FMC during any given year. We also secure either free or discounted medical resources to maximize our funds. The main reason FMC can provide no charge are is because compassionate community members (donors/volunteers/partners) have chosen to help their neighbors their FMC. It cost FMC about $125 per patient to provide over $600 of value in care.
So how is the money spent at FMC?
Accountability is vital to FMC. We have a fantastic board and leaders that provide direct oversight on all our finances and have an annual external and independent financial review. We use our funds to provide a space for the clinic to serve, utilities to operate, medical equipment and supplies, technology support, paid staff where we cannot use volunteers, and marketing to help keep our community informed of all we offer to those living in our back yard. We are a faithful steward. Our accounting services are supported by ALLY ACCOUNTING and our External Audits and 990 are prepared by Capin Crouse, both are exceptional and trusted financial management firms that we trust to provide integrity to our finances. Donate here!
What type of volunteers serve at FMC?
We have medical and non-medical volunteers. Without the medical volunteers (Providers, nurses, and other medical personnel) FMC could not provide no charge primary care. We also have non-medical volunteers that help with administration tasks in the clinic and working from home, so anyone can volunteer at FMC! Combined they provide a powerful force during medical events! Volunteers make up the powerful FMC engine! Volunteer here!
FMC is approved for the Tennessee State Loan Repayment Program (TSLRP) and National Health Service Corps (NHSC)
Working at FMC helps you reduce your Medical Student Loans! If you are interested in working for FMC and securing your loan repayment program please email here!
