The Culmore Clinic is raising funds for its permanent home
Despite a year of disruption caused by having to relocate twice, the Culmore Clinic is continuing to meet the growing healthcare needs of the community while raising funds for its permanent location.
The clinic provides free healthcare services to uninsured lower-income adults, most of whom live in the Seven Corners, Falls Church, and Bailey’s Crossroads areas.
Its current, temporary location, in an office building at 6400 Arlington Blvd. in Seven Corners, is especially convenient for clients, says Executive Director Lynette Sappe-Watkins. The clinic’s pharmacy, NOVA ScriptsCentral, and an Inova Cares Women’s Clinic are in the same building, and there’s a bus stop right in front.
Related story: The Culmore Clinic is moving for the second time this year
The clinic had to vacate its space at First Christian Church at 6156 Leesburg Pike in Seven Corners last winter. The church is being renovated in preparation for the construction of Kindred Crossing, an affordable multifamily housing project for seniors, on its property.
When that project is completed, the Culmore Clinic will move into a 5,000-square-foot ground-floor space at Kindred Crossing, which is being developed by Wesley Housing. Groundbreaking will take place in January. The building is expected to be completed in summer 2028.
“We are thrilled to be a part of what is believed to be the first senior housing project with a healthcare component in Virginia,” said Sappe-Watkins. The Culmore Clinic is a free-standing organization and will be independent of Kindred Crossing, but could serve residents if they qualify.
“Wesley Housing is giving us the space; we have to build it out,” she said. The clinic launched a fundraising campaign, “A Home for Healing,” to support the clinic’s permanent space. The campaign has so far raised a little over $1.9 million toward its $2 million goal and is seeking donations from the community to close the gap.
Sen. Mark Warner helped secure a $550,000 federal grant for the clinic’s permanent home. “Culmore Clinic has been a lifeline for uninsured Virginians who might otherwise go without care,” Warner said. “Every Virginian deserves access to quality care, and this investment, alongside strong local partnerships, will help make that a reality.”
Culmore Clinic has also received $100,000 from St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Arlington and $500,000 from the J.O.Y. Charitable Fund.
After vacating the First Christian Church, the clinic moved to temporary quarters at Columbia Crossroads Baptist Church in Bailey’s Crossroads in February. The clinic was displaced again when that church was sold to an Ethiopian church in May and moved to its current space on Arlington Blvd.
Clinic staff and volunteer medical professionals provide a variety of primary and specialized services, including mental health counseling, vision care, diagnostic testing, EKGs, management of chronic conditions, and physical therapy. The newest addition to the Culmore Clinic is a board-certified gynecologist.
All of those services are provided at no cost, as well as medications and prescription eyeglasses. The only thing patients pay for is low-cost dental services from the Northern Virginia Dental Society.
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The clinic’s plan for the new space includes a dedicated counseling room for behavioral health, private rooms for telehealth consultations, a room where nurses can review medications with patients, and running water in every exam room.
The clinic’s permanent home will be big enough to handle a growing client base.
In the past three years, the clinic has gone from serving 350 patients a year to almost 1,000. The clinic typically gets about 20 to 30 new patients a month, although it also loses clients who move away. Among the newest patients are people with refugee status who are losing access to Medicaid.
Sappe-Watkins says, “We are especially appreciative of the community that supports us – not only financially but the hundreds of volunteers that support our clinic every week.”