Central Carolina Hospital is offering a 30-day matching donation of up to $5,000 to help support the Helping Hand Clinic, which provides free healthcare to low-income, medically uninsured patients.

The hospital will match all community contributions received during the month of September up to $5,000. If local residents donate a total of $5,000, CCH will donate a matching $5,000 to the clinic, for a total contribution of $10,000.

“The Helping Hand Clinic treats patients who might otherwise end up in our Emergency Department, which is ultimately an uncompensated cost borne by all hospital patients,” said Dave Santoemma, CEO of CCH. “This donation will help assure continued access to vital healthcare services for those who are most in need, and help make our communities healthier.”

Last year alone, the Helping Hand Clinic provided care that helped the hospital avoid $1.1 million in uncompensated care in the hospital’s Emergency Department, clinic officials said.

A non-profit organization, the Helping Hand Clinic has operated in Sanford since 1993. It provides free healthcare and education to more than 1,000 total unique patients each year. It relies on its funding from grants, governmental sources and local donations.

To qualify for services, patients must have income within 400 percent of the federal poverty level. Without the clinic, most clients would forgo healthcare entirely or end up in the Emergency Department, said Gwendolyn Cooper-Lee, Director of the Helping Hand Clinic.

“We are the safety net for healthcare in Lee County,” Cooper-Lee said. “We care for everyone, regardless of their ability to pay. There is literally nowhere else for them to go.”

More than 4,000 people and 400 businesses and organizations donate to the clinic annually. But recently, the clinic has seen a 33 percent drop in donations, Cooper-Lee said.

Fewer grants are available, and federal funding sources are being reduced or eliminated. Cuts in Medicaid will bring an estimated 1,200 more uninsured patients to the clinic. In July, the clinic was forced to cut four of its six full-time staff.

The plight of the clinic mirrors what is happening nationwide, said Bill Huggins, who serves as Chairman of the Helping Hand Clinic Board of Directors. From 2012 to 2023, community health clinics across the nation saw a 64 percent drop in profitability.

“There’s a long-term cost to our community if people cannot get access to medical care,” Huggins said. “That long-term cost is that people are not healthy. More people are sick. More people aren’t able to work anymore.

“There’s a real need,” he said. “I believe that if people need help, you help them.”

To make a donation, please make checks payable to Helping Hand Clinic and send them to Helping Hand Clinic at 409 Carthage Street in Sanford. Credit card and debit card payments can be made at the clinic’s website at https://hhcsanford.com/. Donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.