Volunteers at the East Knoxville Free Medical Clinic inside Magnolia Avenue United Methodist Church are the primary care providers for many people. Originally founded because no medical care was available within a 3-mile radius, the clinic has become a beacon for those who are uninsured, have Medicaid or Medicare or can t afford hospital bills.
Those in need of care come from across the county or from right across the road to get help.
Inside physicians, nurses, pharmacists and University of Tennessee, Knoxville medical students hustle through the hall with armfuls of files as patients sit in scattered chairs along the walls, waiting for their names to be called.