The Lloyd F. Moss Free Clinic, which has cared for the region’s uninsured and indigent since 1993, will close its doors today.
Moss medical director Dr. Patrick Neustatter confirmed to the Free Press that the clinic’s board of directors voted Wednesday night to cease operations in light of insurmountable financial difficulties.
“What it came down to is we ran out of money. That was the cause,” Neustatter said.
The Free Press reported last year that the clinic struggled, ultimately cutting its hours and days of operation following an acrimonious split with Mary Washington Healthcare, its longtime partner that helped raise $10 million in a 2004 capital campaign.
According to the clinic’s Form 990 for 2023 (the most recent year filings were publicly available), the nonprofit’s expenses were approximately $6.8 million that year. MWHC was listed as the clinic’s leading funder during the same period, with $1.08 million given.
The filing also states that there were 7,500 patient visits and 73,000 prescriptions dispensed at the clinic in 2023. In addition to its own patients, Moss handled pharmacy services for five other Virginia free clinics.
In April of last year, clinic supporters including Dr. Lloyd F. Moss Jr., the son of founder Lloyd F. Moss Sr., held a rally in the parking lot of a Taco Bell to raise awareness and funds.
A month later, Moss held a “Mayday giving day” that raised $134,000, plus a matching $100,000 from an anonymous donor.
Apparently, those funds weren’t enough for the clinic to continue operating.
Neustatter said the clinic is “making arrangements” for its patients and has had conversations with organizations including the health department, MWHC and other partners about continuity of care and prescription services.
Nonetheless, he added, “In the immediate, our patients won’t be getting as good of care as they’ve gotten before.”
Eric Fletcher, MWHC’s chief operating officer and senior vice president, wrote in an email that he learned of the clinic’s closure for the first time on Thursday. Fletcher wrote that MWHC officials plan to meet with several Moss board members on Friday to coordinate appointments for the clinic’s former patients.
“Between the Mary Washington Healthcare sites and the other free and charitable clinics in the region, we have a strong healthcare safety network that is resilient,” Fletcher wrote.
(This is a developing story and will be updated).
