COVID-19: Year in Review – Arlington Free Clinic

MID-MARCH:

Onsite visits essentially dropped to zero—except for emergency dental and a small selection of other services that could only be provided in person.
Pharmacy pick-up was moved to outside AFC’s front door.
Staff who could do their jobs remotely started working from home. Transitioned majority of services to telehealth.
Increased hours for our only paid medical provider (almost all care at AFC is given by volunteers) from part- to full-time to meet urgent patient needs and hold telehealth visits. Brought two staff nurses back out of retirement to help implement crisis response protocols and meet increased mental health needs.

APRIL:

Fiberoptic connection established between AFC and Virginia Hospital Center for speedy, secure electronic health data transfer.
First telehealth appointment with a volunteer physician (Dr. Michael Rapp on April 16th)
Social Services Case Manager referrals for critical non-medical resources like food, rental assistance, and transportation increase by 46%.
PPP funding application approved.
Frontline staff morale boosted thanks to nearly daily lunch donations from local businesses, churches, board members, and Arlington families.

MAY:

Successfully advocated for a walk-through COVID-19 testing site in partnership with Arlington County for low-income, uninsured/under-insured residents without a car (including many AFC patients). To date, over 12,000 individuals have received testing at the site.
Positive test rates in 22204 are double that of any other Arlington zip code—they will remain consistently double or higher throughout the crisis.

JUNE:

Expanded beyond emergency dental care-only and began serving patients whose partials, dentures, and crowns were ready to be delivered.
Began offering telehealth physical therapy appointments.

JULY:

AUGUST:

First volunteer nurse came back onsite to provide patient discharge instructions.
Resumed offering all dental services except for cleanings.

OCTOBER:

Held Annual Benefit Gala virtually—and thanks to our generous, loyal supporters we met our goal of raising 25% of our operating budget.
AFC received Arlington Chamber of Commerce’s Best Business Award in the Nonprofit Category.

NOVEMBER:

In partnership with the County, Arlington Community Foundation, Community Foundation for Northern Virginia, Northern Virginia Health Foundation, Safeway Foundation, a handful of individual donors, and seven nonprofit partners, purchased/distributed
over $600,000 in grocery gift cards to those with difficulty accessing food distribution sites during the pandemic. Through this effort, roughly 500 low-income, food insecure Arlington families are receiving up to $1,200 ($200/month for 3-6 months).

DECEMBER:

VHC and Arlington County began vaccinating AFC’s frontline staff and clinical volunteers to assist in the county-wide vaccination effort.

JANUARY:

Partnered with Virginia Hospital Center to provide our first 50 high-risk patients access to the COVID-19 vaccine.
Joined Arlington’s Complete Vaccination Committee to help lead the community’s efforts to achieve high vaccination rates.

MARCH:

In partnership with the County, became an official COVID-19 vaccination site. Began holding 2-3 vaccine clinics per week, vaccinating 60-100 patients per clinic.