Six years ago, Danny moved to Beckley from Atlanta and quickly found a good job with benefits, including health insurance. Then in 2003, a sudden illness required immediate heart surgery and his life hung in the balance. Four stints were placed in his heart and Danny was informed that he would need certain medications for the rest of his life. He became partially disabled and lost his good job…and insurance. Not knowing where to turn, friends and relatives pointed him to Beckley Health Right, where he found help for his medications and blood work to constantly monitor his progress. In the course of his treatment at the clinic, another bombshell fell on Danny. He discovered that he had Hepatitis-C, a viral blood disorder that often lies dormant in a person's body for years. He quickly discovered that Beckley Health Right had an annual program, (Hep-C Management Program), that could, if successful, effectively render the virus non-existent in his body. He is currently a candidate for the clinic's 2007 program that kicks off in April.
"Everybody at Beckley Health Right makes patients feel like people, not just a body; they talk to you about your problems and offer help anywhere they can find it. It's like they're part of my family; when I walk in here I am as comfortable as if I walked into my home." Danny McVay - 2007
Uninsured people include children, young adults, middle-aged adults and people nearing or at retirement.
Smaller employers are less likely to offer health insurance to their employees because premiums are prohibitively expensive.
West Virginia Association of Free Clinics
1520 Washington Street East
Charleston, WV 25311
Phone: 304-414-5941
Linda West, Executive Director