CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- There are only a few places left for hardworking people who are poor to go for medical care. The free clinics of West Virginia are their respite.

From health screenings to comprehensive women's services as well as dental care, HIV and specialist care, free clinics in West Virginia have built a foundation of hope for so many who struggle every day to make ends meet. This last avenue of access is currently being threatened by legislative rules proposed by the West Virginia Board of Pharmacy.

People who use free clinics for health care are in a category of their own. They make too much to receive government assistance and don't make enough to pay for the cost of health care or insurance. It's important not to confuse people who use free clinics as those who are looking for a handout. This couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, the majority of free clinic patients work full-time jobs and are productive citizens of West Virginia. They clean houses, mow lawns, serve you at restaurants, check out your groceries at the market. They are your friends and neighbors!

Take Misty Tanner of Chloe, for example. Misty was referred to Health Right after being hospitalized for four days with chronic colon disease. Misty is concerned that the Board of Pharmacy's lack of understanding of her situation and that of thousands of other West Virginians like her will lead to not being able to get her essential medicine.

"I need this clinic because my medications for one month are nearly $1,000. I'm 28 years old and have a 7-year-old son to take care of, and without my medicine I would not be able to work or be the mother I need to be," Misty said.

"The disease I have must be controlled with medications I cannot afford to buy, and it can lead to a colostomy bag or even death. Please consider that!"

The free clinic keeps her connected to her medications, gives her the ability to work, keeps her illness under control and ensures that she stays out of the hospital. Misty hasn't been hospitalized since she began getting her medicine at WV Health Right.

One of the unique aspects of free clinic services is that there are few hoops to jump through when seeking health care. Free clinics in West Virginia are community-based centers where the needs of the entire patient are served and the patient is the core of each clinic's mission. The WV Free Clinic network is just as diverse as the patient population it serves. It's a system of people helping people in the most comprehensive way possible.

For Jack Smith of Foster, a self-employed Type II diabetic, his condition is considered pre-existing and he says, "Insurance is not even an option for me due to the high cost. I have a family and, just like many working Americans, it's tough to make ends meet from week to week. If I would not have this clinic to help me and was forced to choose between putting food on the table for my family and buying my meds, I would let myself go to provide for my family."

Jack appreciates the time and effort that all of the clinic volunteers put in to help him get what he needs.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- There are only a few places left for hardworking people who are poor to go for medical care. The free clinics of West Virginia are their respite.

From health screenings to comprehensive women's services as well as dental care, HIV and specialist care, free clinics in West Virginia have built a foundation of hope for so many who struggle every day to make ends meet. This last avenue of access is currently being threatened by legislative rules proposed by the West Virginia Board of Pharmacy.

People who use free clinics for health care are in a category of their own. They make too much to receive government assistance and don't make enough to pay for the cost of health care or insurance. It's important not to confuse people who use free clinics as those who are looking for a handout. This couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, the majority of free clinic patients work full-time jobs and are productive citizens of West Virginia. They clean houses, mow lawns, serve you at restaurants, check out your groceries at the market. They are your friends and neighbors!

Take Misty Tanner of Chloe, for example. Misty was referred to Health Right after being hospitalized for four days with chronic colon disease. Misty is concerned that the Board of Pharmacy's lack of understanding of her situation and that of thousands of other West Virginians like her will lead to not being able to get her essential medicine.

"I need this clinic because my medications for one month are nearly $1,000. I'm 28 years old and have a 7-year-old son to take care of, and without my medicine I would not be able to work or be the mother I need to be," Misty said.

"The disease I have must be controlled with medications I cannot afford to buy, and it can lead to a colostomy bag or even death. Please consider that!"

The free clinic keeps her connected to her medications, gives her the ability to work, keeps her illness under control and ensures that she stays out of the hospital. Misty hasn't been hospitalized since she began getting her medicine at WV Health Right.

One of the unique aspects of free clinic services is that there are few hoops to jump through when seeking health care. Free clinics in West Virginia are community-based centers where the needs of the entire patient are served and the patient is the core of each clinic's mission. The WV Free Clinic network is just as diverse as the patient population it serves. It's a system of people helping people in the most comprehensive way possible.

For Jack Smith of Foster, a self-employed Type II diabetic, his condition is considered pre-existing and he says, "Insurance is not even an option for me due to the high cost. I have a family and, just like many working Americans, it's tough to make ends meet from week to week. If I would not have this clinic to help me and was forced to choose between putting food on the table for my family and buying my meds, I would let myself go to provide for my family."

Jack appreciates the time and effort that all of the clinic volunteers put in to help him get what he needs.

A study by the National Institutes of Health conducted at WV Health Right showed that its patients visited the hospital emergency room 61 percent less often than before they became clinic patients. This saves money for everyone by reducing the cost-shift to those who have insurance.

The Board of Pharmacy has stated, "those patients who have to go to free clinics should be afforded the same safety protections as those who can afford the most costly medical care."

Guess what? West Virginia's free clinics are also concerned about safety. Free clinics were concerned more than two decades ago and set the precedent for safety standards for the uninsured. Standardized controls, risk management, and quality assurance practices have been in place in the state's free clinics for more than 25 years.

The clinics dispensed more than $55 million of free drugs last year. Our success is measured by the fact that the Board of Pharmacy has never received a patient complaint or "adverse event" from anyone in 26 years about any of West Virginia's 10 free clinics.

All too often we close one eye to the reality of other people's lives. If it doesn't affect us, then it doesn't exist. The hard truth about "safety" for the uninsured working poor is that they have no other place to go. They live without life-sustaining medicine, put off going to the doctor, and choose between medicine and food because they simply can't afford it.

Imagine going with an upper respiratory infection for so long that by the time you seek care, you have pneumonia and need to be admitted into the hospital. Wonder what it might be like to be asthmatic and not be able to breathe and not be able to afford an inhaler. This is the reality of patients served at free clinics.

Our patients are grateful for the care given and for the free medications that keep them healthy and able to work. We are their voice.

Neither our patients nor the state's free clinics want the Board of Pharmacy to become a bureaucratic obstacle that might very well cost them their lives.

White is executive director of WV Health Right. Dane is director of WVRx.