Volunteers in Medicine Clinic of the Cascades (VIM) is celebrating 20 years of providing medical care in its clinic to the uninsured and critically underserved in Central Oregon. Join volunteers, staff, and patients on March 20th from 5:30-7pm at the clinic, 2300 NE Neff Rd on the St. Charles Bend campus. Volunteers will offer clinic tours and visitors will be able to talk with clinic stewards and learn more about the history, and future, of VIM Cascades.

Volunteers in Medicine’s (VIM) history is one of vision, compassion, and dogged determination. The story began in 1999 when a small group of people decided to tackle a growing healthcare problem in Deschutes County. The goal: to find the most effective and cost-efficient way to care for low-income, working residents who weren’t receiving the medical care they needed because they were uninsured. In April 2001, Amy R. Hamlin, Executive Director of the VIM Institute, was invited to speak to a group of concerned community leaders, physicians, nurses, and other healthcare specialists, to solicit broader interest in tackling the growing problem of the uninsured in Deschutes County. Out of that meeting, a steering committee was formed with Jim Petersen and Dr. Ron Carver as Co-Chairs of the 10 member committee, and the idea of a community clinic quickly gained momentum. It would require a collaborative effort of local talents and resources. The plan was to recruit both retired and active medical professionals as volunteers, with the promise that they could practice the art of medicine without having to deal with the business of medicine.

Once Petersen, Jim Lussier, and Dr. Stan Shepardson presented the idea to other Central Oregon leaders, it quickly gained momentum. The Bend group became a member of the national Volunteers in Medicine Alliance for guidance to ensure the clinic’s success. In November 2001, Volunteers in Medicine Clinic of the Cascades (VIM) received its 501(c)3 non-profit status and the real work began. Patients were first seen in a space donated by Deschutes County, but the long-term vision was to be a free clinic that worked and felt like any other medical office. In 2003, Bend residents Les and Judy Alford donated $750,000 of the $1.1 million needed to construct a free-standing building, and St. Charles Medical Center agreed to lease the land for $1 per year. With these two acts, the dream for VIM was well on its way to being realized. The clinic building was dedicated in March of 2004, and VIM was able to expand its care for the uninsured, debt-free.

Currently, VIM patients receive a coordinated system of healthcare that can include primary and specialty care, prescription medications, mental health care, and/or basic dental care, as needed. Patients must qualify for services every 12 months and have a family income of less than 300% of the federal poverty line, or less than $93,600 annually for a family of four. All care is still provided without charge, but we encourage patients to contribute donations as they are able.

Since the clinic opened, we’ve provided over $151 million in medical treatment and services to the local community and served 15,732 patients who would not have had consistent healthcare without VIM. One day we hope our patients won’t need us. But until then, we’ll be here.