Aug. 29—The Community Medical Clinic of Aiken County, or CMCAC, is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its founding this year.

"The people we serve are often the sickest and the poorest," said the nonprofit's executive director, Orion Jeter, during his presentation Monday to the Rotary Club of Aiken at Newberry Hall.

CMCAC provides free medical services to people "between the ages of 19 and 64," according to Jeter.

Also to qualify as a patient, a person must be at or below a certain poverty level based on federal guidelines, must not be a patient at another medical clinic and must have "no health insurance whatsoever," Jeter said.

A patient also must have one of the following diagnosed medical conditions: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, thyroid problems, seizures or obesity.

Since 2018, CMCAC has served 998 new patients and its staff has had 21,024 individual encounters with those people.

As of 2022, 66% of CMCAC patients with high blood pressure were stable or improving and 80% of CMCAC's diabetic patients were stable or improving, Jeter said.

The total value of direct and indirect services provided by CMCAC was $3,264,145.37 in 2022.

"Every dollar [donated] equates to about $6.82 of services," Jeter said. "We make a lot happen with a little."

Area Churches Together Serving started the ACTS of Caring Clinic in 1998. Later, after the clinic began operating under the direction of its own board of directors, the name was changed to the Free Medical Clinic.

Since 2007, the nonprofit has been known as CMCAC.

Also called the Free Medical Clinic of Aiken County, it is a United Way of Aiken County partner agency.

CMCAC is at 244 Greenville St. N.W. in Aiken.

For more information about CMCAC, call 803-226-0630 or visit cmcaiken.org.