Every person deserves access to affordable and equitable healthcare
“The community center steals your heart. It’s a slice of the best of what American can be.” – Jeremy Cole, Board Member
Clarkston Community Health Center (CCHC) is a free health clinic with a mission to be a state-of-the-art, culturally and linguistically competent primary and preventative health care facility, providing a medical home to the residents of the city of Clarkston and to those in need throughout north Georgia.
CCHC was founded in 2013 and, annually, we serve thousands of immigrants, refugees, uninsured, and underinsured patients in need of medical care. Clarkston is a major refugee resettlement area located just outside of the city of Atlanta. After eight months in this country, refugees are no longer eligible for Medicaid and do not qualify for the Affordable Care Act. According to the 2010 census, the city’s foreign-born population hails from over 50 countries (spanning 6 continents) within this 1.1 square mile enclave, leading TIME magazine to refer to Clarkston as the “most diverse square mile in America”.
In addition to primary and preventative care, CCHC provides comprehensive healthcare to any patients who live at or below 200% of the federal poverty limit by offering a full range of specialty clinics. These include cardiology, women’s health, dermatology, mental health, vision care, dental care, endocrinology, and rheumatology. Our onsite point-of-care lab and free pharmacy ensure that patients receive needed screenings, timely results, and access to life-saving medications.
Understanding and celebrating the vast cultural diversity that exists within our community, our practitioners speak over 30 languages to accommodate our wonderfully diverse patient population. Our patients are majority immigrant or refugee, 60% identify as Muslim, 70% have less than a university education, many do not speak English, and on average, the majority have lived in the United States for less than ten months. Our patients identify as African (18%), Eastern/Arabic (32%), Asian/South Asian (34%), African-American (3%), Hispanic (4%), and White (8%).
“One of the primary reasons for choosing my medical school was its proximity to CCHC. As an immigrant, I understand the fear and anxiety around navigating the American healthcare system that new arrivals may feel. I wanted to work in an environment that saw someone’s status and culture not as stagnating care, but at the center of care planning. Clinicians take time and care to break down barriers to health and counsel patients, in whatever language they may need. At CCHC, I see the relief in a grandmother’s eyes when her doctor walks in sharing her skin tone and mother tongue. Unique to CCHC is the collection of providers and students that congregate from all over Georgia on any given day. Education is closely intertwined with service and it is a privilege to learn from these clinicians, some of whom endured harrowing journeys from abroad to make their life’s work at CCHC. What I admire most about their leadership is their commitment to constant improvement. They are not content with just being a free clinic, but a first-class example of care delivered across cultural borders.” – Reem Dawoud, Volunteer Medical Provider
The need for comprehensive, affordable, culturally-sensitive healthcare isn't going anywhere - we hope that you will join us in providing for this wonderful community!
“For a person who does not have insurance in this society,
things can be challenging. I was able to go over there and find people with
open arms – it made a tremendous difference. I found people who were serious
about what they were doing, clearly knew what they were doing, and cared a lot
about the patients. [In 2020], I did in fact contract the Coronavirus, and that
was a terrifying time. It was crucial to be able to have access to medical
advice, medical support, to make me feel that this thing was not necessarily a
death sentence.” - Jeremiah Blount, Patient