Volunteers in Medicine in Jacksonville is relocating: Here's some things to know.

After 20 years in downtown Jacksonville, Volunteers in Medicine's main free clinic is moving to a location on Philips Highway, closer to many low-income, uninsured patients.

The clinic will be able to serve more people," CEO Jennifer Ryan said, because the space is newer and larger and has more parking than the current aging, cramped digs on the corner of Duval and Church streets.

"To have a new space with increased capacity is exciting. We will be moving into an updated and renovated space," she said, while the current building "was in need of a lot of work — it is an old building."

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The clinic will reopen Wednesday at its new location at 3728 Philips Highway.

"We made do here, the very best we could, but we have outgrown it," co-founder Dottie Dorian said. "We need a lot more space."

Who uses Volunteers in Medicine?

Founded in 2003, Volunteers in Medicine in Jacksonville is one of 94 similar free clinics across the United States. The full-service clinic, funded by grants and donations, provides free health care to low-income, uninsured working adults and their families.

About 230 volunteers annually provide primary and specialty care, dental and eye care, mental health and nutritional counseling, among other services. The clinic also is a learning ground for nurse practitioners, resident physicians and other health care professionals in training at area colleges and hospitals.

Students in the University of North Florida Brooks College of Health nurse practitioner program who have volunteered there learned far more than in-the-trenches health care, according to Pamela Chally, Brooks' former dean and a current professor and dean emeritus.

"We're providing care for subsections of people in Jacksonville that provide such essential services, like food services, health care, child care, health and beauty, who just don't have access to health care insurance," she said. "So our students have had the opportunity to help those people and understand the situation that they're in."

A second clinic opened in 2020 on Old Timuquana Road on the Westside and provides free primary care for the working uninsured.

The highest number of uninsured individuals in Duval County live in the 32217 ZIP code, which is south of University Boulevard, west of Philips Highway, north of Baymeadows Road and east of the river, Ryan said, citing data from the Health Planning Council of Northeast Florida.

"That is the ZIP code directly south of our new location. We will be moving closer to those that need our services," she said.

Most of the downtown clinic's patients did not live downtown, but some worked downtown. Those patients who walked to the downtown clinic will receive transportation, Lyft or Uber rides, to the new clinic.

"We will continue to be a resource," Ryan said. "We have removed transportation as a barrier."

Why move after 20 years?

The relocation was prompted by the downtown building being put up for sale by its owner, The Salvation Army. Ryan and the clinic board was told about the need to relocate in 2020; the building's sale was finalized in December 2022.

A board committee looked for other options downtown, but locations that met clinic needs were not available. So they expanded the search for sites within 5 miles of downtown that were 9,000 to 10,000 square feet, easily accessible, convenient to a bus route and had plentiful parking.

The new space combines four suites, two of which were previously medical offices, Ryan said. Also, the clinic is working with the Rotary Club to develop an "Innovation Room" with technology for individual one-on-one telehealth meetings and large group meetings, she said.

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"We have been talking about the move for almost three years and it is finally here," Ryan said. "Many of our staff have been sharing offices. With an additional 3,000 square feet, our staff will have more space as well as our volunteers."

The new clinic will have 10 exam rooms, compared to six at the old one. The additional rooms will be designated for eye exams and specialty care. There also will be rooms for mental health consultations and one-on-one education, an area for walk-in patients to be qualified for care and "more space for … additional physicians to work or take notes between patient appointments," Ryan said.

How can the public help?

As a nonprofit, Volunteers in Medicine can always use donations of any size.

For 2023 the clinic has a $200,000 fundraising goal to celebrate 20 years in operation. A May 17 benefit golf tournament is expected to make a substantial dent in that goal.

Ryan said she is also seeking "multi-year funding opportunities" to cover rent for the new location, which is "significantly higher" than the downtown location. Also, there are naming opportunities for exam rooms.

Past and present donors have supported the clinic "because they value what we're doing," board chairwoman Barbara Darby said.

"This is an opportunity to increase the number of people we serve. This is why we exist," she said. "It takes money to run a health care agency."

bcravey@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4109

VOLUNTEERS IN MEDICINE JACKSONVILLE

New location: Midway Center, Suite 34, 3728 Philips Highway, Jacksonville 32207, (904) 399-2766. The Westside office is at 5927 Old Timuquana Road, Jacksonville 32210, (904) 539-3020. To donate or get more information, go to vimjax.org. The benefit golf tournament will be May 17 at Queen’s Harbour Yacht and Country Club, 1131 Queens Harbour Blvd., Jacksonville 32225, to raise awareness of men's health. For more information about the event, go to vimjax.org/vim-events/golf-tournament.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Volunteers in Medicine in Jacksonville is relocating from downtown