Healthcare for Our Community
The Charlotte Community Health Clinic (CCHC) is a community service — a safety net organization created to help our uninsured neighbors who have no other access to healthcare. We provide quality health care, including primary care, ongoing chronic disease management and health education, to the county’s low income, uninsured population.

One in four Mecklenburg County residents (approx. 150,000) is uninsured with approximately 75,000 of those at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level. Over 40,000 have no access to medical care, and these numbers are growing quickly. Mecklenburg County’s unemployment rate was recently reported at 11% — the fourth highest unemployment rate nationwide among metro areas, surpassing even Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Still, Charlotte also remains one of the fastest growing cities (3.4 % growth rate). Many area newcomers are boosting the region’s unemployment numbers as they relocate to the area for work, and many have no health insurance. The NC Institute of Medicine reports that the percentage of people without health insurance coverage is growing faster in North Carolina than in most of the country.

CCHC responds to these problems as one of the most advanced free clinics in North Carolina. Our chronic disease management program and our health education programs have proven effective in helping our patients learn to manage their own health care. Our programs have been especially effective for our low literacy groups, who are more vulnerable to disease progression and less likely to seek medical attention prior to disease onset. And we have a dedicated staff, hundreds of volunteers and a network of community partners who believe in our mission and want to make a difference in the lives of others.

A Growing Challenge
Diabetes and cardiovascular disease cases are increasing among the impoverished, high risk ethnic groups and the uninsured. Nearly 85% of our patients have a chronic disease and 90-95% have depression and/or anxiety. Low-income and minority individuals have higher incidence of chronic diseases and experience more complications and greater mortality from their illness. And as the economy worsens, our patient numbers increase, the line outside of our door grows longer and the numbers we have to turn away increases. We are turning away 250-300 people monthly who need care.