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The Cowlitz Free Medical Clinic serves hundreds of uninsured residents of Cowlitz County, WA. Since 2010, AmeriCares has supported the clinic with more than $35,000 in medical aid, including a crucial shipment of Tdap, a vaccine that protects against pertussis. Also known as whooping cough, this serious, highly contagious disease causes violent coughing and can be fatal for infants.The needIn April 2012, a pertussis epidemic was declared, with 1000 reported cases statewide since January—putting 2012 on pace for the worst outbreak in decades. Cowlitz County reported 42 cases of pertussis from January to April compared to 69 cases in all of 2011.Cowlitz County has been deemed “medically underserved” by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services: A significantly higher than average percentage of residents live below the poverty line, and more than 15 percent of residents are uninsured. Thus, many families are not immunized against pertussis and family members, especially mothers, are a primary source of pertussis in infants.
The clinic requested the Tdap vaccine through our ongoing G.I.F.T. (Give Immunity Fight Transmission) program—an initiative aimed at preventing the spread of pertussis by giving uninsured families access to immunization through our health care partners. The clinic will administer the vaccines to mothers to help prevent the spread of infection and decrease the likelihood of infant fatality. The vaccine also provides immunity against tetanus and diphtheria.About the clinicThe Cowlitz Free Medical Clinic is operated by licensed doctors, nurses, and pharmacists who volunteer their time every Wednesday night to focus on meeting urgent care needs of the medically underserved, including treating basic illnesses, infections, sprains, strains, minor lacerations, as well as lab work and imaging. Their team of experts also refers many of their patients to outside care centers to get the appropriate treatment. Resources
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