Postville raid, economy spike rise in usage at free clinic, food pantry
By Lissa Greiner
November 28, 2008
The Decorah Newspapers
The nation's struggling economy and the May immigration raid on the Agriprocessors plant in Postville have led to more area residents seeking free health care services and food in Decorah.
That's according to Decorah Community Free Clinic Manager Andrea Homstad, R.N., who said the Clinic, now in its seventh year of operation, is serving more people than ever.
"That's pretty much been the case since the raid. Throughout the summer we've seen more displaced Agriprocessors workers who had been going to clinics and paying their bills for health care," said Homstad.
"Now many of them are out of work and can't pay for health care the way they used to."
In addition to the jobless immigrant population, Homstad said the struggling economy has caused other area residents to lose their jobs or health insurance, causing them to seek free services as well.
"Need across the board has been steadily increasing," she said.
How it works
The Free Clinic, located at First Lutheran Church in Decorah, is open Thursday evenings, with walk-in registration time between 5 and 6 p.m.
"We have a triage process and we take the most needy patients first. If people aren't there by 6 p.m., they may not get seen," she said.
Homstad said the Clinic, which is run by two paid employees and about a dozen volunteers, usually helps between 12 and 20 people on a given Thursday evening.
"Since the raid, our volunteers have also gone to Postville a couple of times a month to have clinics there, and we intend to keep doing that on an as-needed basis," she said.
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