Mason Care Free accepting patients

By CHRISTIE BLECK
cbleck@lsj.com
February 11, 2011
From Ingham County Community News

MASON - The Mason Care Free Medical Clinic is "able and willing" to accept new patients, says its director.

Dr. Barry Saltman, who runs the clinic at 790 E. Columbia St. with his wife Suzanne, a registered nurse, has served more than 2,600 needy residents in the community since the clinic opened in 2004. (The Care Free mission has expanded to include locations in Lansing as well.)

And Care Free can handle more patients. Saltman said that two new pediatricians and a hand surgeon are expected to lend their services to Care Free beginning in March.

That should make it easier for Care Free to expand its patient base.

Saltman said the clinic focuses on serving the uninsured and under-insured. Accepted are Ingham County residents with no insurance, who can be served at the clinic with a sliding-scale fee.

Those on Medicaid and the Ingham Health Plan also are accepted, he said.

"It gives people without means an opportunity to be cared for," Saltman said.

Rhiannon Schindewolf, administrative assistant at Care Free, noted that people without insurance who are patients at the clinic can use the facility as an enrollment site for the Ingham Health Plan.

For more information on Care Free, call the Mason facility at (517) 244-0120 or the Lansing facility at (517) 887-5922.