There are 47 million Americans who have little or no access to health care, and the number is growing at a rate of more than one million people per year. The medically underserved are scattered around the United States in every city, town, and village. If you look around, it's not difficult to find them. They are our neighbors. They are the people building the roads, caring for the elderly, making your morning latté. Their lack of basic health care is not just a problem for them, but for all of us. No community can be truly healthy if a significant portion of the population is excluded from basic health care services. In the absence of a state or national health policy that includes health care for everyone, concerned citizens need to find other ways to provide the medically underserved with the health care services they need. This is where Volunteers in Medicine Clinic of the Cascades is making a difference. Each year we provide care to thousands of uninsured families in Deschutes County and inspire other organizations to partner with us in reaching out to the underserved.

To learn more about what we do and who we serve, please see our services and eligibility sections of the website. To learn more about the demographics of the uninsured in Oregon, please see the latest report from the Office for Oregon Health Policy and Research.

Click here for Profile of Oregon’s Uninsured, 2006