ROCKLAND — Dr. Paul Klainer founded The Knox County Health Clinic in 1999. It’s at 22 White Street in Rockland, behind the Rockland Public Library. It offers free or low-cost medical, dental, mental health and prescription assistance services to the uninsured, the under-insured, and those who cannot afford to pay for basic health care. The clinic is operated by Mid-Coast Health Net, a nonprofit doing business as as the KCHC.

Care is provided by volunteer physicians, dentists, nurses, social workers and other personnel. Dr. Brian Pierce, of Camden, is one of the volunteer physicians.

“It’s a good way to give back,” he said.

The clinic operates without the assistance of federal or state grants and receives no payments from insurance companies. Funding comes from individuals in the community. The clinic requires $150,000 a year to operate.

“It’s a lot of nickels and dimes,” said Klainer. “But it adds up. Twenty five to $50 is a typical donation. It’s very rare that we get a multi-thousand dollar donation. The Rotary and Kiwanis have helped in the past, but mostly it is neighbors. We really do have neighbors helping neighbors, which is very typical of Maine.”

The clinic currently has between 600 and 700 patients on file, according to Meredith Batley, who serves as the clinic’s director.  In 2011, the clinic’s 100-plus volunteers provided 3,600 hours of their time valued at around $330,000. Volunteers are at the clinic every day to make sure it runs efficiently. The medical clinic is open on Wednesday evenings from 6 to 9 p.m. Patients need to have an appointment. The dental clinic is open two days a week and the office is staffed four days a week.

And business is good. In 2010, the clinic had 12 Wednesday night clinics. In 2012, that number has grown to 38 to date with three providers. It is not feasible for the clinic to be open multiple nights. Instead, it is trying to increase the number of providers to shorten the waiting time and increase capacity to serve more patients each week.

The clinic integrates medical, dental and behavioral heath and wellness services. It is a primary care practice and not a walk-in clinic. This allows staff to focus on disease prevention and management, thus helping to avoid expensive emergency department visits, while keeping community members working.

Dr. Klainer serves as the clinic’s medical director. He also serves as chairman for Midcoast Health Net that operates the clinic. Klainer moved to Rockland in 1999 from Massachusetts. He worked as a board certified physician in internal medicine and was board certified in emergency medicine as well. He worked in the UMAS Medical Center and the Milford Regional Medical Center.

After an illness he had to leave emergency medicine, but still wanted a way to give something back.

“I noticed there were a lot of access issues with patients,” said Klainer. “They couldn’t get good medical care. There are places like this in Massachusetts and I wanted a place to work and volunteer. I’m not out to fix it on a policy level, but rather a one person at a time philosophy.”

Klainer does not maintain a private practice in Rockland. He is for all intents, retired.

“I serve on the board, help run the clinic and I do the quality stuff like give speeches," he said. "How ever many hours it takes to do it, I’ll do it.”

The clinic was founded by a $10,000 grant from the Pen Bay Foundation and its then president Roy Hitchings.

“It covered our first payroll and got us our 501C3 status," he said. "Donations have done the rest.”

The clinic has occupied the same space for 13 years.

The clinic ensures that all Midcoast residents have the opportunity to improve and maintain their overall health. The clinic needs your help and donations to continue its work in the community. To volunteer or make a donation, email info@knoxclinic.org or go to www.knoxclinic.org