Latest local news, weather and high school sports for Tri-State area

HANNIBAL, MO -- Saturday marked two years since the Free Clinic's began seeing low income, uninsured patients in Northeast Missouri.

The Hannibal Free Clinic opened May 30, 2007 inside Douglass Community Services Center at 311 Grand Avenue in Hannibal.

Now the clinic is able to offer dental care to qualified patients thanks to some dedicated volunteers.

Dr. E.W. Harder and folks at the Hannibal Dental group are volunteering time each month to help enhance dental health in the population served by the free clinic.

Clinic volunteers say the already the clinic has been flooded with folks looking to take advantage of the service.

Coordinator Sharon Webster says the service is desperately needed by many in the area.

Webster said, "There is new evidence that dental care and dental health affects every other part of your healthcare. If you have chronic infections in your teeth you are in pain, you don't eat well and your body has a chronic infection in it and you're just run down."

The goal is to provide basic, free healthcare to the uninsured population in Northeast Missouri.  All the care is provided by volunteer physicians, nurses and support staff and funded by donations.

The Free Clinic offers primary healthcare *by appointment only.* Patients also have to go through a thorough application process to meet income guidelines, and cannot be covered by any health insurance.  Learn more here http://www.hannibalfreeclinic.org/home.html