DuPage clinic provides free health care

Alex Escarpita was in bad shape the first time he visited DuPage Community Clinic.

The 30-year-old Downers Grove man, who lost his health insurance along with his job last year, hadn't seen a doctor in months.

His blood sugar was high, and so was his cholesterol. He often worried about serious health risks.

“Without the clinic,” he said, “I probably would be very sick and in emergency rooms all the time. I feel a thousand times better.”

Escarpita is just one of about 5,000 people who sought free medical services this year at DuPage Community Clinic, a nonprofit doctor's office that sprang from a grass-roots effort 20 years ago this month.

Executive Director Amy Gugel said administrators are facing a challenging year ahead, with as many as 6,000 individual patients expected as a result of tough economic times.

So far, the Wheaton-based clinic — which saw 1,500 patients just three years ago — has managed to meet increasing demand through cost-saving measures such as shuttering satellite offices in Villa Park and Carol Stream. But now the strain may lead to layoffs of some of the clinic's only paid staff.

“The giving spirit I've seen here is amazing, but unfortunately the funding just hasn't followed the growth,” Gugel said. “We're constantly looking at how we can do better with less.”

Formed in 1989, the clinic began as a bimonthly service through the Peoples' Resource Center, which brought a volunteer doctor and nurse together with low-income patients at a one-room house in Wheaton.

Within a year, its leaders recognized a greater need and formed the nonprofit group that became DuPage Community Clinic, 1506 E. Roosevelt Road.

Since then, Gugel said, the volunteer staff has grown to encompass about 90 doctors, nurses, dentists, therapists and pharmacists. Behind the scenes, a modest team of paid nurses and administrators handle individual case management, follow-ups, specialty referrals and scheduling.

“We're all here because we really all have the same mission and vision,” said Marie Doll, director of nursing services. “We're here to provide the best possible service for patients who have nowhere else to go. Our No. 1 goal is to keep people out of emergency rooms and urgent care centers.”

The clinic, which operates on an annual budget of about $1.5 million, relies on private donations and grants for much of its funding. Gugel said an additional $100,000 to $200,000 a year would keep operations afloat and allow the clinic to address its crumbling and cramped infrastructure.

Eligibility for services is determined through Access DuPage, which assists the uninsured and underinsured in times of need. For treatment, patients visit either the office in Wheaton or a satellite center at the DuPage County Health Department's building in Westmont.

Naperville Dr. Patrick O'Donnell, who is on the clinic's board of directors, has volunteered his services two days a month for about 21 years.

He said many patients come to him with hypertension, diabetes and other ailments that tend to progress the most among those who can't or don't seek regular care for financial reasons.

The need is greater than people may realize, he said.

“A lot of people in DuPage County maybe don't understand the extent of how the recession hit people here,” O'Donnell said. “DuPage County may be one of the wealthiest counties in the state, or even the country for that matter, but there seems to be this undercurrent that I think goes unrecognized.”

For Escarpita, a married father of three, the availability of regular treatment has made a world of difference as he searches for a full-time job.

He said the clinic straightened out problems he was having with medication, stabilized his diabetes and cholesterol, and continues to follow up with him on a regular basis.

“I've never felt good like this,” he said.

Escarpita added that the clinic always treats him with respect and dignity.

“They always have a smile on their faces and make me feel very welcome and satisfied, like I have regular insurance,” he said. “I know it's not much, but I try to give $5 or $10 when I can. I'm living proof of how different communities take care of people.”

Call (630) 682-0639 or visit dupagecommunityclinic.org.