By Staci DaSilva
sdasilva@kcautv.com
When the doors to the Grand Avenue Free Health Clinic at Spencer's Dream Center opened in October, Leanne Arrowood was the first in line.
And here's why: Leanne has suffered 2 heart attacks in the last 8 years and has no health insurance.
"When you get a bill that's $60,000 what do you do? Eventually, you either file for bankruptcy or keep paying $25/month and hope it'll keep your creditors happy," said Arrowood.
And that doesn't include the almost $400/month she pays for prescriptions.
It's not like Leanne doesn't work. She's a manager at a café in town her family's owned for over 20 years. But with her pre-existing conditions, it's now impossible for her to afford health insurance.
Arrowood said, "Where do you go? What do you do? What if I were to get sick? Stay at home and hope to heck it cures itself?"
Well, now, she doesn't have to worry about that. Her physician, Dr. Darrel Forslund, teamed up with the Dream Center a few years ago. He and another primary doctor work at the clinic for free.
Dr. Forslund said, "I work in the Emergency Room at Spencer Hospital and also at Spirit Lake in the ER and I see a lot of people who don't have access to health care. It gives them access to health care, gives them a place to go. Otherwise, they're out there with just nothing."
And Leanne and her fellow patients couldn't be more thankful.
"This, you know, all I can do is say 'thank you and thank you to all of these volunteers.' There aren't enough words because now, if I get sick, I don't have to worry about it," said Arrowood.
The doors of the health clinic are open every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month from 3pm-9pm but folks here are hoping to expand that to every Thursday.
