LYNCHBURG, Va. – A fire has shuttered a free clinic in downtown Lynchburg that provides medical, dental, pharmacy and health-education services to people who can’t afford care.
“A fire has shut down a free clinic in downtown Lynchburg, leaving patients without care. While the outside of the building is intact, severe internal damage requires a full rebuild inside.”
Clinic officials say the blaze left much of the treatment area unusable and that restoring services will cost roughly $500,000.
Dr. Derrick Brown, the clinic’s executive director, warned of broader consequences if the clinic stays closed.
“I do think it’s important to realize how important safety net clinics and free clinics overall are for the health care system. Just to be able to provide that alternative to be able to go into the emergency room, that increases costs for hospitals and wait times for other patients.”
For now, patients can be seen at two temporary locations: East Street Community Center and Faith Family Church. Both are accepting walk-ins from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., clinic officials said.
Clinic leaders say they face about a $500,000 funding gap for repairs and operations. They reported raising $300,000 so far and described the rebuild as “more than half done.”
“We have a half a million dollar gap for what we need to continue operations and to finish the rebuild. We currently have raised 300,000 of that, so we’re in the back half and we’re almost there.”
Neighbors and volunteers have pitched in with fundraising and labor, and clinic staff said they expect services to return in phases as repairs and fundraising progress.
The station will continue to track repair timelines, the clinic’s fundraising status and how patient care is being managed during recovery.EMERGENCY