In Georgia’s wealthiest county, uninsured adults can get annual wellness exams, diabetes management, help for hypertension and other medical care — for free.
The privately funded, nonprofit Forsyth County Clinic in Cumming is open to adults ages 18-65. It is staffed by physicians and other health care professionals who volunteer their services.
Uninsured adults often must make the tough decision to purchase food or medicine, said Karen Pirkle, a retired nurse and past chair of the clinic’s board of directors.
At the clinic, they can get their medications and healthy food, along with a planned path to wellness, Executive Director Evan Shoemake said.
“It’s weird to be in a county that is so flush with money and then have 26,000 people who are living in this situation,” Shoemake said. “We want to be a real safety net for people.”
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
Forsyth is Georgia’s most affluent county, with an average household income of $164,032 as of 2023, according to the most current Census data available.
Since opening two years ago, the wellness clinic has had more than 1,500 patient visits and provided or helped obtain health care services worth $642,030.
Health care providers have treated everything from the common cold to cancer, with hypertension and diabetes being the most frequently diagnosed. It’s the only place in Forsyth County where women can receive a complete gynecological exam at no cost.
No one leaves empty-handed, whether it is with a prescription and treatment plan, fresh food, or free samples of toothpaste and soap.
“If we can help them, we’re going to help them,” Shoemake said. “We believe in being a hub for anyone in need.”
Services include ultrasounds, X-rays and basic blood panel testing. Clients can get physical therapy, and the clinic is working to secure dental and mental health care.
The clinic opened in May 2023 in a business park office suite furnished with donated exam tables and other equipment from a retiring physician. Weeks went by without any clients.
“It was so depressing,” Shoemake recalled. “We started understanding that the need was more out there than in here.”
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
So, they piled the equipment into Shoemake’s car and took the clinic to the people, setting up inside churches, food pantries or wherever they were welcomed.
They identified areas of need near schools and found partners who also offered services.
“Once we started going on the road, our numbers increased by 594%,” Shoemake said.
Last year, the clinic raised money and purchased a 37-foot RV mobile unit that volunteers refurbished into a roving medical clinic.
The clinic office, at 102 Mary Alice Park Road in Cumming, is open during the week, while the mobile unit visits school campuses on Saturdays.
The mobile clinic travels with an entourage of other services, including a mobile food pantry, a bookmobile, the Forsyth County Health Department and Family Promise, a nonprofit that assists struggling families.
The clinic’s mobile outreach to uninsured families won the Forsyth County Schools 2025 Silver Program of the Year Award.
Often, the visits are like festivals, with food, games and giveaways. Shoemake said clients seen on Saturdays are more likely to visit the clinic for further treatment.
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
Most first-timers come in a little weary and fearful. They don’t understand the complicated medical system and are afraid of being sent to the hospital and getting a bill they can’t pay, said Pirkle, who spent her nursing career in public health.
“I worked for years in a community health center,” she said. “You could get care, but once you go out of those doors, specialty care is not available.”
“Everything I ever learned in my nursing career brought me here,” she added.
The clinic has 30-40 volunteers, including doctors from 13 medical specialties, such as emergency medicine, oncology and women’s health.
“It’s a blessing among blessings,” Shoemake said. “When they come here, they say, ‘I’m doing what I trained to do. I love it.’”
Volunteers are needed in nursing and phlebotomy. Interpreters are also in demand, as every patient visit includes an interpreter in the room.
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
César Eguez interprets for many Hispanic clients who speak English but struggle to understand medical terminology.
“It gives them comfort hearing what is said (in Spanish),” Eguez said.
Following through with the doctor’s orders is another key mission of the clinic.
Patient aid advocate Felicia Brazile, a volunteer and board member, helps clients find financial assistance and low-cost prescriptions.
“I love coming here,” she said. “I love the looks on their face when they finally understand something about their medical care.”
Shoemake was born and raised in Forsyth County, then left to pursue his career dreams, all of which were unrelated to health care.
He returned to run the clinic because, at one time, he was without health insurance, and a free health clinic helped save his life.
Shoemake said he was treated with dignity and compassion, and that’s the way he runs the Forsyth Community Clinic.
“I’m very proud of the impact we’ve had,” he said. “You see people come in nervous and scared, and they leave smiling and happy.”
MORE INFORMATION
Forsyth Community Clinic
102 Mary Alice Park Road, No. 803, Cumming
For services, donations or to volunteer, visit forsythcommunityclinic.org/
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