Westfield’s Heart and Soul Free Clinic has offered care for uninsured and underinsured patients for 10 years, but new Executive Director Lisa Kreag fears not enough people are aware of the clinic’s offerings.
Kreag plans to utilize social media, attend chamber of commerce events and take other proactive steps to spread the word.
The clinic recently moved from a former house on Penn Street to a new facility at 17338 Westfield Park Rd., Suite 1, just west of City Hall. The new space is more functional for the clinic’s needs.
Recently, the clinic established a mobile clinic and a dental clinic. Eventually, Kreag wants to offer mental health services but acknowledges that’s still on the distant horizon.
Kreag became involved with the clinic as a volunteer in the fall of 2018. She’s a licensed clinical social worker and a Westfield resident.
“When I came to volunteer, I started doing front desk stuff when we had clinics, and my conversation was always with the (former) director on how to add a mental health piece to this, because I can provide counseling. That’s something we are hoping to add at some point,” she said. “We have a lot of work to do and get organized before we get anything, and we need volunteers and mental health providers.”
Kreag also said the clinic needs interpreters, specifically those who speak Spanish and Arabic. Forty-six percent of the clinic’s patients speak Spanish, and 12 percent speak Arabic.
At the Penn Street location, Medical Coordinator Katie Fair said the dental area was in a makeshift porch.
“Our dental in the other location was relatively new and it was in a configured porch area and it was growing a ton, which is one of the reasons we moved buildings,” Fair said. “We expanded when we got here (to Westfield Park Road). Here, we’ve just had the room to grow, so we have lists and lists of people who need a (dental) chair.”
Fair said the provider list of dentists in the area has grown as well.
“This place is better configured to be a doctor’s office versus a house that was retrofitted to serve the purposes of a clinic,” Kreag said.
The clinic now has two dedicated exam rooms, an immunization room that can be converted into an exam room when needed, a nurse’s room and dental area, which has two chairs — one for cleanings and one for X-rays.
Kreag started her position Aug. 20. Her top priority is to get the word out about the free services.
“My goal is to get more community awareness of this clinic,” she said. “The clinic has been here in Westfield for 10 years, since 2009, and I feel like there are some people who are aware of it but the majority don’t know about us. If they do know about us, they don’t know we have moved or think we are another clinic in a different location.”
A 10th anniversary gala will be at 7 p.m. Nov. 2 at Chatham Hills. Festivities will include a live auction and silent auction, hors d’oeuvres and music by My Yellow Rickshaw. Tickets are $125. For more, visit heartandsoulclinic.org.
Hours of operation
The Heart and Soul Free Clinic recently expanded its hours and days of operation with its recent move:
Dental clinic: First Saturday and third Thursday of each month. No walk-ins, appointment required.
Medical clinic: Every Wednesday of the month by appointment only, the second and fourth Saturday of the month walk-in and the third Tuesday of the month by appointment only as a follow-up.
Mobile clinic: Visits the Grace Care Center for consecutive days on the first full week of the month, with dates varying. On the third Friday of the month, it visits Carmel United Methodist Center for walk-ins and appointments.
For a full list of dates and hours, visit heartandsoulclinic.org.
