Concept - Good Neighbor Clinic

Good Neighbor Clinic: Affordable Medical and Dental Care for Neighbors Without Health Insurance

The Good Neighbor Clinic is a common cause that Frisco's houses of worship can take on together through the Frisco Good Neighbor Council. The goal is simple: no one in our city should go without a doctor or a dentist because they cannot afford health insurance.

Each house of worship serves in its own way and under its own name. A church, mosque, synagogue, or temple can host a clinic day in its own building, staffed by doctors, dentists, nurses, and volunteers from its own congregation. Others can give funds, supplies, or a dentist's chair time. The council coordinates the calendar, sets common standards of care, and makes sure every patient who needs follow-up care is referred to the right place.

The clinic is open to every neighbor in need, whatever their faith or background. Patients are never asked to take part in worship or religious teaching.

VISION

A Frisco where every neighbor can see a doctor and a dentist, with or without health insurance.

MISSION

Bring together the doctors, dentists, volunteers, and resources of Frisco's houses of worship to provide free or low-cost basic medical and dental care to uninsured neighbors, with each congregation serving in the name of its own faith.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the country. In 2025, 16.5% of Texans had no health insurance, almost double the national rate of 8.4%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Many of them are working families. When they get sick, they often wait until a small problem becomes an emergency.

Houses of worship are well placed to help. Many congregations already include doctors, dentists, nurses, and pharmacists who want to serve. They have buildings, volunteers, and the trust of their neighbors. What they often lack is a way to work together so their efforts reach the people who need them most.

The model already works. The IANT Community Medical Clinic in Richardson, a charity clinic run by the Islamic Association of North Texas since 2000, uses volunteer physicians to serve low-income patients across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Muslims and non-Muslims alike. The Good Neighbor Clinic takes this idea one step further: many houses of worship, of many faiths, each serving the whole city.

Version 1.00

PHASE 1: Launch Plan (First 12 Months)

Adopt the cause. The Good Neighbor Council selects the clinic as a common cause. Each faith leader asks their own congregation who can help: doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, interpreters, drivers, and general volunteers.
Learn from those already doing this work. Visit existing charity clinics such as the IANT Community Medical Clinic, and build referral partnerships with local hospitals, labs, and specialists so patients can get care the clinic cannot provide.
Take care of the legal basics. Set up the clinic properly, confirm that every volunteer doctor and dentist is licensed in Texas, and arrange liability coverage for volunteers.
Fund it together. Each congregation decides its own gift of money, supplies, or space. The council can also seek grants and support from local businesses and the city.
Start small. Open with one clinic day a month, hosted by a different house of worship each time. Focus on checkups, ongoing conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure, and basic dental care such as cleanings and fillings. Local dentists may also donate chair time in their own offices.
Grow with the need. Track how many patients are served, and report the results to the city each year. As more congregations join, add more clinic days and services.

Version 1.00