Culmore clinic needs more support to keep up with growth

Culmore Clinic, a health center that provides free care to disadvantaged adults, has seen explosive growth over the past year.

The clinic has 900 registered patients, representing a 109 percent increase in the past year, with 30-40 new patients coming every month.

The number of primary care appointments increased 83 percent in 2024 compared to 2023.

Culmore Clinic is based at First Christian Church on Leesburg Pike in Seven Corners. The clinic will relocate to an affordable housing project for lower-income seniors that will be built by Wesley Housing on the church’s property. The groundbreaking is expected to occur in December 2025.

At an open house on Oct. 22, Executive Director Lynette Sappe-Watkins thanked the providers and others who volunteered at the clinic and the local residents and board members who donated funds and hosted fundraisers to keep the clinic going.

The Culmore Clinic offers no-cost preventive, acute, chronic care, and mental health counseling, along with free medications and eyeglasses. To qualify, patients must have household incomes below 300 percent of the federal poverty line and can’t be eligible for other health benefits. Providers see patients three days a week, 9:30 a.m.-7 p.m.

Most of the patients are immigrants from Central America who tend to face challenges accessing healthcare due to a lack of health insurance, language barriers, limited transportation options, and family instability, said Clinical Director Maria Obeid.

Many patients have physical ailments from working jobs requiring manual labor. Obeid cited a recent case involving a construction worker injured on the job. The clinic found a hand surgeon for him who contributed their services.

To make patients feel welcome and comfortable, the clinic contracted with the Oasis Alliance to paint the walls and add plants to provide a healing, calm, and soothing atmosphere.

In addition to a limited number of staff members, almost all of the providers and assistants at the Culmore Clinic are volunteers, including physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, medical assistants, counselors, data analysts, a gastroenterologist, and a cardiologist.

More than 100 volunteers help out at the clinic, contributing more than 9,000 hours in the past year.

Several volunteer interpreters are always on hand to facilitate communications between patients and providers. The clinic works with private companies to negotiate discounts on medications and medical services.

Sappe-Watkins said the Culmore Clinic couldn’t do all this without support from the community.