The struggle to find affordable healthcare continues to be a great challenge for Missouri families. 

Insurance premiums are often not in the budget and insurance deductibles adding up to thousands of dollars makes carrying medical insurance nearly impossible for some.

Crossroads Clinic, Volunteers in Medicine, located in Lake Saint Louis, is offering help to families who live in Warren, Montgomery, Lincoln or western St. Charles counties. With eligibility, patients could receive free healthcare, free prescriptions and referrals to specialists who are also willing to help.

“We do good work here,” said office manager Susan Baker. “Many of our patients say that nobody has taken care of them like this before.”

More than 60 volunteers man the clinic each Tuesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 10714 Veterans Memorial Parkway in Lake Saint Louis (the First Bank building).

Four physicians, three nurse practitioners and several RNs and LPNs all volunteer their time to treat patients. Pharmacists, mental health workers and other specialists stand by to help fill in the gap for area families.

The clinic is a beehive of activity with many other volunteers handling whatever can be of service. Volunteers come from all walks of life and are dedicated to the clinic’s motto — “Neighbors Helping Neighbors.”

“Twenty percent of our patients have diabetes,” said Cheryl Moellenhoff, RN. “One of our nurses is a certified diabetes educator. We offer two diabetic clinics a month — the second and fourth Tuesday.”

Moellenhoff said they are often able to help provide free insulin, glucometer strips, needles, blood pressure monitors, inhalers and other customized medical supplies for their patients.

To be eligible, uninsured patients must be between 18 and 64 years old and live in an approved county, and their gross income must fall at 200 percent less than the federal poverty guideline. Applications are available at the clinic. Patients must not be on disability, Medicaid or Medicare.

Generous private donors provide most of the funds to run the clinic and supplement medical needs as they arise. The clinic holds a dinner dance and silent auction each February. Last year they raised $38,000.

“We are desperate for nurses right now,” said Moellenhoff. “We need RNs and LPNs, retired or active.”

Baker said last year they logged more than 1,000 visits by families in the eligible area.

Baker and Moellenhoff said they have seen lives transformed by the help the clinic can provide.

“We have a great team here that figures out what patients need and figures out how to help them,” said Moellenhoff. “They are good problem solvers.”

One example of problem-solving was when the clinic was able to provide a voice glucometer to a patient who could not read the display. Another woman was able to gain a little more freedom when a specialized breathing machine was provided to help meet her needs.

The clinic opened in 2010 and was the idea of Dr. Maimuna Baig, who serves as its medical director. She wanted to give back to a community that had been supportive of her.

The 10th annual Valentine Dinner Dance and Silent Auction will be held Friday, Feb. 7, from 6:30-10:30 p.m. at the Christy Banquet Center in O’Fallon. Tickets are $60 per person. Purchase by calling 636-399-6635.

For more information about the clinic, call 636-561-3133 or visit www.crossroadsclinicvim.org.