The Haight Ashbury Free Medical Clinic

The article highlights the philosophy, history, growth and current dimensions of the Haight Ashbury Free Medical Clinic. Started in the spring of 1967, the clinic was the first of more than 600 free clinics that appeared nationwide over the next decade. With a philosophy that health care is a right, not a privilege, and should be free, humane, demystified and nonjudgemental, the clinic has continued to fill a need among the medically indigent and drug abusing clients it serves in San Francisco. In the last 17 years, it has logged over 600,000 patient visits, and today has grown into a nationally renowned research and treatment center, providing a wide spectrum of services.