WHAT WE DO ...
Feed the Hungry
Care for the Sick
Nurture Children
Support Families
Strengthen Neighborhoods
941 Princeton Street
Akron, Ohio 44311
330.434.0110
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Clinic
OPEN M operates the only free medical clinic in the city of Akron and serves all of Summit County.
OPEN M Free Clinic is a medical office that serves as the primary care home to a large number of
Summit County uninsured residents. Patients of the clinic receive basic as well as specialized care,
in addition to medications prescribed by OPEN M volunteer physicians.
The clinic opened its doors in 1995 and moved in 1999 to its current location inside the
OPEN M Neighborhood Center. Since its 2006 expansion (now 14,000 square-foot), the clinic
has five general exam rooms, one dental room and one optometry room. Extra space also
includes a storage room, nurses' office, doctors' office and a retail-size pharmacy. Specialties
represented by OPEN M volunteer physicians include cardiology, pulmonology, endocrinology,
pediatrics, psychiatry, podiatry and others. In 2007 we accommodated nearly 3,000 patients
using the OPEN M Free Clinic as their primary care institution. As part of medical visits 942 lab
tests were performed, which are valued at $358,257. Moreover, the pharmacy filled 3,209
prescriptions valued at $1,264,036.
In 2007, the clinic received grants and donations totaling more than $80,000 to start a pharmacy
formulary to ensure the presence of certain core medications, thereby reducing the need to change
patient medications based on availability. While these monies started the formulary, grants and
donations must still be sought in order to maintain the formulary in the future.
The children’s clinics provide immunizations which are added to a state-wide database called
Impact SIIS, this database can track immunization data across the state. This is beneficial due to
the fact the, once the shot record goes home with the family, it is sometimes lost or damaged.
Consequently, when the child appears later at a health department, physician’s office or clinic,
there is no real way of verifying which shots have already been administered. These records can
now be accessed simply by logging onto the Ohio Department of Health’s vaccine registry.
Adequate facilities are important, but they are only a portion of the clinic picture. Without
dedicated staff and volunteers, help would not be able to reach those in need. The clinic is
operated under the guidance of Roger B. Chaffee, MD, the clinic's Medical Director, whose medical
expertise is well documented in the community and whose humility is an example for all.
With the number of uninsured rising, there is much work to be done to ensure that the OPEN M
Free Clinic can continue to provide care for the uninsured of Summit County. In addition to
normal grant writing and fund raising activities, in 2008 the clinic staff will be exploring
opportunities to improve patient care by creating and fostering relationships between the clinic
and its community health partners.
Clinic Staff:
- Dr. Roger B. Chaffee, MD, Medical Director
- Marla Oddo, RN, Nurse Administrator, Ext. 414
- Lisa D. Fazenbaker, Clinic Manager, Ext. 413
Interested in volunteering at the clinic, please contact:
OPEN M
Opportunity Parish
Ecumenical Neighborhood
Ministry
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A Beacon of
Hope
in the Heart
of the
City
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