Independent Sector Releases New Value of Volunteer Time

Dear FAFC Members & Friends:

Today, you can see your membership dollars at work as Independent Sector (IS) shares one of their most popular data points, the value of volunteer time.

The 2012 value of volunteer time is $22.14/hour, a 35-cent increase from 2011. State-by-state figures for the value of volunteer time are also available on the IS website.

The value of volunteer time provides one way to measure the impact millions of individuals make with each hour they dedicate to make a difference. The release of this important figure comes before National Volunteer Week, which takes place April 21-27, 2013. 

According to Urban Institute, nonprofits employ approximately 13.7 million workers – about 10 percent of the American work force – and account for about 5.5 percent of GDP. According to the Corporation for National Community Service, about 64.3 million Americans, or 26.8 percent of the adult population gave 7.9 billion hours of volunteer service worth $171 billion in 2011; estimates for 2012 will be released this summer.

Please use this figure to calculate the immense value of your own volunteers and share it with others in the nonprofit and philanthropic sector.

Sincerely,

Manivone Douangdara, MPH
FAFC Coordinator

FAFC 3rd Annual Conference - Concluding Remarks

Dear FAFC Members & Friends,

The Florida Association of Free Clinics 3rd Annual Conference has now concluded.  It was an AMAZING two days of education, inspiration, and networking amongst leaders and supporters of Florida's free clinics. The conference focused heavily on innovations and transformation within our sector and within everyday practice and operations. 

The conference ended on a high note with the presentation of the first-ever Florida Free Clinic Innovation Award to Orange County Secondary Services, a program of the Primary Care Access Coalition of Orange County.  Kudos to OCSS for receiving this honor and for all that they have done to transform the organization and delivery of specialty care in Orange County.

All in all, it was a superb meeting.  Attendance was excellent, the content was timely and relevant, and spirits were high.  Many thanks to all of our conference organizers, sponsors and presenters who helped make it possible.  We thank you from the bottom of our hearts!!

Respectfully yours

Marisel Losa, MHSA - Founder, FAFC

Mark R. Cruise - Chair, Executive Committee, FAFC

Florida CareNet

Dear FAFC Members,

It was an honor to meet all of of your at the FAFC 3rd Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida.  The passion for your work and the great community you bring together exemplifies the spirit of us all as caring Americans, dedicated to the cause of the medically disenfranchised in our country. 

As mentioned breifly during our luncheon, Florida CareNet is a non-profit (501 C 29) organized to apply for a the U. S. Government loan program which has been established, under the Affordable Care Act,  to create a Consumer Operated and Oriented Plans (CO-OP).  The application deadline date for the next round of funding is October 1st, 2012.  Funding for this program is expected to be depleted by the end of the year.  Additional information may be found here at the Center for Consumer Information & Insurance Oversight.

Given the size of Florida's uninsured population the dollars needed to fund this initiative are expected to be in the range of $150 to $200 million.  To increase the opportunity of being able to secure the funds required to be successful we are working to “fast track” the application process so that we can meet this October deadline. 

To this end, we are seeking Letters of Support from community organizations that serve disenfranchised populations, small employers (200 hundred employees or less), other industry experts, and elected representatives.  We would appreciate your support and that of other entities that you think may also be interested in furthering this initiative for Florida residents.

The details about the CO-OP program, and a sample Letter of Support may be accessed by clicking on the links below.  You may of course reach me directly at (727) 804-4391 or raeclaire@aol.com.

• Center for Consumer Information & Insurance Oversight
• Letter of Support (PDF & MSWord)
• CMS Slide Presentation

If you choose to support this effort please send your letter to me at the address below for inclusion in our application.

Rae Claire Johnson
1717 Indian Rocks Road
Belleair, FL 33756
raeclaire@aol.com

Thank you for your time and consideration.  I look forward to seeing you again.

Respectfully yours,

Rae Claire Johnson

National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics - An Update

Friends,

It is a real pleasure to be here again to address the FAFC 3rd Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida.  Let me summarize what I spoke about earlier today.

First and foremost, please be an advocate for the Free Clinic community - reach out to your members of Congress and Senators to tell them about your clinic, and the work in your community.

2012 has been a very busy year for the NAFC and for health care as a whole.  The NAFC expanded our membership benefits, technical assistance for members, data collection efforts, and our work on the Hill and with Federal Agencies.

The Legislative objectives for the Association are as follows:

• Expand the Federal Torts Claim Act to include the clinic entity and remove barriers that exclude Charitable Clinics from the process.
• Encourage Congress and Agencies to fund Health Information Technology (HIT) grants for Free and Charitable Clinics.
• Expand the 340B drug program to name Free and Charitable Clinics as sites that are eligible to receive deeply discounted prices on medication for our patients.

The 2012 NAFC Annual Summit will be held in San Antonio, Texas - October 22-24th.  Information, agenda and registration is available on www.nafcclinics.org

And last but not the least, please visit our website, gain access to our resources and sign up for our listserv.

Once again, it is an honor to represent the Free Clinic community in Washington DC. 

Please click here to download the full presentation.

Respectfully yours,

Nicole Lamoureux Busby
Executive Director
National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics

FAFC 3rd Annual Conference

FAFC Members & Friends,

The FAFC 3rd Annual Conference kicked off this morning in Orlando, Florida.  A wonderful 2 days ahead - great speakers and the Free Clinic community all sharing our experiences and learnings in serving the uninsured and medically underserved.

With our theme "Charting a Course for the Future" we are venturing and exploring new approaches, new ideas, and new techniques for the uninsured and medically Underserved.  We are confident that your experience over the next two days will be informative, rewarding, and impactful.

A special welcome to Nicole Lemoureux Busby, Executive Director of the National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics for taking the time to brief us on the initiatives at the national front.

We would also like to thank our sponsors for supporting the cause and work of FAFC.

Please take a few minutes to reivew the FAFC 2011-2012 Annual Report and share this with your community and legislators.

Peace!

Marisel Losa, MHSA - Founder, FAFC

Mark R. Cruise - Chair, Executive Committee, FAFC