Cura Medical Clinic in Creek County, Oklahoma will be first come, first serve for any uninsured patients.
Dr. T.J. Trad, Founder of Cura for the World, says, “we started doing a lot of research and finding out what are some of the low-income or some of the underrepresented or underserved areas in the counties in Oklahoma.”
Dr. Trad is an invasive cardiologist and is partnering with other local health professionals to provide free medical services in Sapulpa.
“We were surprised to find that Creek County was one of the top in the state,” said Dr. Trad.
Creek County is considered a “medically underserved area” by Oklahoma’s Department of Health, in which there is a shortage of healthcare services.
“Our goal is to have a clinic like this in every state, so this is just the beginning,” said Dr. Trad.
Cura Medical Clinic will be run by physicians and nurses who will volunteer their time one night a week.
Cura Medical Clinic Director Dr. Rachel Ray says, “We’ll do things like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, talk about weight loss – those kinds of things. Things that need chronic follow-up and medications.”
Dr. Ray is an urgent care physician in Sand Springs, who often sees patients who can’t afford healthcare.
“I know what kind of impact that is if you don’t have $99 to pay your office to see me, that it’s very hard on your home life paying bills,” says Dr. Ray.
The latest numbers from the Census Bureau show that about one in seven people in Oklahoma are uninsured.
“If you don’t have insurance, no matter what county you live in, no matter what age you are, we’re able to see you,” says Dr. Ray.
This free medical clinic is just another one of Dr. Trad’s visions of his nonprofit organization Cura for the World.
“Our first partners were Project Orphans. They have an orphan home in Uganda,” says Dr. Trad.
Founded in 2016, this organization partners with nonprofits in developing countries and helps them build clinics through private donations. Dr. Trad says they’ve treated more than 10,000 patients in Uganda, Tanzania, Peru and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
He says no matter where you live, medical access should not prevent you from leading a healthy life – a life he chooses to continue building in Oklahoma, and serving his community.
“You know the people here are amazing,” says Dr. Trad. “They’re having an open house this Sunday and they will start accepting their first patients on Tuesday, July 23 at 6 PM.”
