Two free clinics affiliated with Stanford School of Medicine will join forces to improve fundraising and services due to lean finances and increased demand.

The Arbor Free Clinic in Menlo Park and Pacific Free Clinic in San Jose will now come under an umbrella nonprofit, the Cardinal Free Clinics, said Lars Osterberg, M.D., Medical Director of the Arbor Free Medical Clinic.

In recent years the clinics have struggled with fundraising and have had to cut some services, he said.

Staffed by volunteer medical students from Stanford, the clinics have relied on limited grants and services to treat an increasing number of patients. Arbor Free and Pacific currently serve 2,000 uninsured and underinsured clients. Many are non-native English speakers who require interpreter services in Vietnamese, Spanish and other languages.

By combining, the clinics hope to leverage their Stanford and community resources, share volunteers and fundraise together. Currently, combined budget estimates for the clinics are $100,000 to $200,000, Osterberg said.

Both clinics will remain open.

Cardinal Free Clinics wants to expand services such as orthopedics to help working-class clients, who often come in with musculoskeletal problems, according to Osterberg. Another hope is to add psychiatric services, which patients often need but are time-consuming and often require expensive medications.

A dentist has recently offered free services but the clinics are looking for a donated space where a dentist and hygienist can work, Osterberg said.

Both clinics are open on weekends only. Osterberg hopes a third clinic could be opened near Stanford in the next three years. It would have more continuity of care than Arbor Free, which is a drop-in clinic, and perhaps be open on weekends.

The new venture will be formally announced by Stanford School of Medicine Dean Philip Pizzo, M.D., on Thursday, while honoring hundreds of volunteers and supporters of the two clinics.

— Sue Dremann