As we enter the season of gratitude and giving, we at Wheeling Health Right want to thank those who have helped us fulfill our mission for nearly 40 years.

For those unfamiliar with us, Wheeling Health Right opened its doors in 1985, and since then we have been dedicated to delivering top-quality health care to the working poor of the Upper Ohio Valley. We could not have persevered this long without incredible support from generous health care providers, families, businesses and the state of West Virginia.

We are beyond grateful for the countless doctors, nurses and other professionals who have donated innumerable hours in free health care services. We also would not have been able to meet the ever-growing need for free health care without the millions of dollars in financial support from private sector donors, grant providers and the state’s annual budget appropriation to West Virginia’s system of charitable health clinics. Wheeling Health Right hopes the incoming administration in state government will continue the long history of supporting the state’s health right free clinics. Our patient loads keep growing, and the breadth and depth of their needs continues to expand.

Among the state’s six health right free clinics, Wheeling and the clinic in Charleston – West Virginia Health Right – treat the lion’s share of the state’s working poor. At least 85% of all health right patients in the state are treated by Wheeling or West Virginia Health Right. We both also serve our communities via mobile health care clinics because transportation barriers can lead to unmet health care needs among our state’s poorest citizens. As such, we are hoping the state’s next budget cycle will include a greater commitment to the charitable health care we deliver.

Here are some facts about Wheeling Health Right and its offerings:

∫ Current patient roster: 27,000 from six counties in the Northern Panhandle

∫ Huge return on investment: Every $1 of funding generates more than $30 of free care via donated services, partnerships with local services and more than $25 million in donated pharmaceuticals. We also enjoy strong relationships with West Virginia University Hospitals in Ohio, Marshall and Wetzel counties, generating millions of in-kind care to the underserved. This allows Wheeling Health Right to provide all care for the incredibly low cost of about $190 per patient per year.

∫ Volunteer providers: More than 125 doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses and other allied health care professionals care for our patients today.

∫ Services: Primary health care; health education; specialty care; onsite/mobile unit lab draws; family planning; breast and cervical cancer screening; HepC clinic including treatment (currently cured 99 patients of HepC); disease testing and prevention; women’s health services; onsite counseling with referral to mental health counseling/recovery through onsite mobile mental health unit every two weeks; dental care (we recently expanded our dental unit); and vision care.

∫ Licensed retail closed pharmacy: We have the only one in West Virginia — the other free clinics are charitable clinic pharmacies. We must meet all the criteria of a licensed pharmacy and endure yearly audits.

∫ FARMacy: This program provides fresh fruits and vegetables to those with chronic diseases.

∫ Mobile unit: Our new mobile unite delivers primary health care services, prevention and disease testing in the Northern Panhandle.

∫ Community outreach: Multiple health fairs and community events provide much-needed education and outreach.

Without question, Wheeling Health Right and our volunteers are on the front lines delivering health care in good times and bad. Wheeling Health Right and West Virginia Health Right stepped up to meet critical needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, and now we are taking in a flood of new patients as the state’s Medicaid program reverts back to pre-pandemic enrollment rules.

Our patients are the working poor. They make too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to afford traditional health insurance. Health Right makes it possible for these individuals to remain in the workforce and hopefully improve their health outcomes so they can work towards employment growth and self-sufficiency.

I’ll quote the director of West Virginia Health Right, Angie Settle, who recently wrote: “Imagine the lost tax revenue if 72,000 West Virginians (the combined patient volume of West Virginia Health Right and Wheeling Health Right) quit their jobs to qualify for Medicaid. Consider the increased cost to the state Medicaid system from the potential loss of free medications, care and services donated by these two free clinics that totaled over $43 million last year.”

Make no mistake, investing in Health Right is an investment in West Virginia’s future. Wheeling Health Right believes that every person no matter their economic status should have access to quality and compassionate health care services. We thank those who have supported us for decades already and implore our newly elected government leaders to increase the state’s commitment to helping our working poor live healthy, productive lives.

Kathie Brown is executive director of Wheeling Health Right, based on 29th Street in Center Wheeling.