In 2008 alone, Hamilton County doctors and hospitals provided $13 million in free health care to uninsured county residents through Project Access, organizers said
at a news conference today. “Project Access is making a significant difference in the lives of the working poor, those who often fall through the cracks of our current health care system,†said Darrell Moore, president and CEO of Parkridge Medical Center and a speaker at the event. Project Access is run by the Chattanooga and Hamilton County Medical Society. The program, which began in 2004, helps link uninsured, low-income patients with volunteer providers. The need for financial assistance in accessing health care is overwhelming here and nationally, said Dr. Joe Cofer, founder and chairman of the program. About 46,000 people are uninsured in Hamilton County, and the cost of uncompensated charity care for hospitals in the area is skyrocketing, hospital administrators said.
For complete details, see tomorrow’s Chattanooga Times Free Press.