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Island Getaway: May 20 Tiki Party to Celebrate Community Care Clinic’s 10th Anniversary

Still making plans for Friday night? Grab your island attire! There’s a good time and good food in store for you as the Harvest House transforms into a tiki lounge, and it’s all for a good cause.

The Community Care Clinic will celebrate 10 years of local service here in the High Country from 7-10 p.m. that night, and you’re invited to join the fun! All proceeds from ticket sales will directly support the organization’s mission to provide integrated health care for low-income families in the area.

Community Care Clinic

First established in 2006, the CCC offers primary care, behavioral health, a range of specialties, case management and health education for uninsured patients in the High Country.

Community Care Clinic
Community Care Clinic

“The Community Care Clinic is a critical resource because it is the only place in our community that provides free health care for folks without health insurance. Without access to health insurance, the individual suffers, the family suffers and the community suffers,” said CCC Executive Director Melissa Selby. “We feel that it’s a basic right — just as food and shelter are basic rights, health care is, as well. Ultimately, we are working to help create a healthier community overall.”

The clinic relies heavily on volunteerism and maintains on its staff two full-time medical providers, one full-time nurse, one mental health therapist and several volunteer providers who offer specialty services in neurology, gynecology, dermatology, physical therapy and more.

“When you’re getting all of that care under one roof and all of the providers can talk with each other and really coordinate your treatment plan, you’re going to have much more effective outcomes,” said Selby.

A growing need in the community coupled with two new weekly clinic programs — Monday appointments in Sugar Grove and Wednesday night visits to the Hospitality House in Boone — have led to an increased number of patients for the clinic.

“The whole thing about the CCC is access to care. If people can’t get to use because of some kind of barrier, we need to figure out what that barrier is and address it,” Selby said. “Going to the hospitality house weekly and being out in Sugar Grove weekly has increased that access for a lot of people.”

In fact, the number of patients it sees annually has increased by more than 200 percent every year since its inception.

“We’ve gone from seeing 100 patients a year in 2006 to seeing 1,000 a year now. Significantly more people are being seen,” Selby said. “Between January and April of 2015, we saw 574 patients. During the same time this year, we have seen 722. Last year we saw more than 1,000 patients, and this year we anticipate to serve 1,400.”

Tiki Lounge Anniversary Celebration

The Friday, May 20 anniversary party at Harvest House will serve not only as a celebration of its growth and its work over the past decade, but also as a fundraiser to help continue its service in the community.

One $35 ticket will get you access to the tiki-themed festivities, which will include dancing, performance art, a photo booth, silent and live auctions, local wine, brews from Lost Province and an impressive variety of hors d’oeuvres provided by Reid’s Catering.

The menu will include seared Ahi tuna, picked North Carolina shrimp on blue grit cheddar cakes, honey tarragon roasted chicken sliders, fried chicken and sweet potato waffles, roasted red pepper gazpacho, mini Muffaletta, roasted paprika mini potatoes, homemade banana pudding, key lime tarts, dark chocolate homemade OREOS, hibiscus honey sweetened chilled tea, ginger pomegranate punch and coffee.

Because the clinic’s administrative costs require only seven percent of its operating budget, all proceeds from the event will support direct patient care.

The fun will begin at 7 p.m. on Friday at the Harvest House Performing Arts Venue, 247 Boone Heights Drive.

Click here to buy online or call for tickets. They’re also available for purchase at the Mast General Store on King Street and at Boone Drug at Deerfield, or you can buy them at the door.

For more information on the CCC, check out ccclinic.org or call 828-265-5891. The clinic is located at 141 Health Center Drive Suite B in Boone.