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The Way Free Medical Clinic, UF/IFAS join forces to fight diabetes

By Wesley LeBlanc Staff Writer
Posted 5/29/19

GREEN COVE SPRINGS – The Way Free Medical Clinic already offers a number of free medical services to qualifying Clay County residents and starting soon, those services will include free fresh …

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The Way Free Medical Clinic, UF/IFAS join forces to fight diabetes


Posted

GREEN COVE SPRINGS – The Way Free Medical Clinic already offers a number of free medical services to qualifying Clay County residents and starting soon, those services will include free fresh vegetables grown in the clinic’s garden.

Built as a demonstration garden by the Clay County Extension of the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences six weeks ago, the clinic now has a four-by-eight feet garden in their backyard to provide a sample of fresh and organic vegetables to patients in the clinic.

“As we harvest the vegetables, we’ll bring them into the check-in area of the clinic and each person that passes through, we’ll encourage them to try one of the vegetables or even take one home,” clinic executive director Don Fann said. “Our garden won’t provide free meals with these vegetables, but it can give our patients a taste of what they can grow in their own garden.”

According to Fann, the goal of this garden is to introduce diabetic patients to healthy and easy-to-grow foods that will keep fresh and organic food on their table, as opposed to refined carbs and foods with lesser nutritional values that one might find at a fast food joint or within a gas station.

In America, 30 million people have diabetes. In Clay County, approximately 13 percent of Clay County residents have been diagnosed with diabetes which, according to Fann, is consistent with the state average. What’s not consistent with the state average is the rate of deaths. The rate of deaths in the county is 50 percent higher than the state average.

The Way Free Medical Clinic sees about 1,000 patients a year with about 3,500 doctor visits. All visits and subsequent care are free to all patients. To qualify, a patient must make 200 percent or less of the federal poverty guideline which equates to roughly $25,000 a year. Of the 1,000 patients the clinic treats, about 100 have diabetes.

“Some of our patients knew they had diabetes when they came to us, but many learned from us,” Fann said. “Now, our goal is to not only provide necessary medical care and equipment to those patients but equip them with the knowledge they need while living with diabetes.”

The Way Free Medical Clinic provides its diabetic patients with insulin, syringes, glucose test strips, glucose monitoring meters, log books, diabetic socks and shoes, nutritional supplements, skin creams – all free of charge. With their garden’s first harvest coming up soon, they’ll also provide fresh vegetables for their patients.

“We want to educate our patients on what to eat with diabetes and how they can do it, which is where gardening comes in,” Fann said. “The hope is that if people can grow their own food, it will help them and encourage them to eat healthier, which has a direct correlation with disease outcomes and the rate of death as a result of diabetes.”

Fann said the clinic has received donations of seeds that the clinic plans to give to its patients, so they can begin their own garden. Right now, their garden and seed variety include radishes, tomatoes, summer squash, sugar snap peas, carrots, bush beans and green beans, but Fann said he could see the garden expanding to include even more.