BRISTOL, Tenn. — As part of its Subaru Share the Love Campaign, which took place between November and January, Subaru of America and Wallace Subaru of Bristol presented Crossroads Medical Mission with a $35,027 check.
In her comments during the presentation of the check on Tuesday, Cindy Rockett, executive director of Crossroads Medical Mission, highlighted Wallace Subaru’s role as a community partner, having donated around $200,000 to them over the years.
“They’re such a good community supporter, and what this money does is it helps Crossroads Medical Mission to provide free health care to uninsured, generally low-income people in our community,” Rockett said. “This year’s check is so large that it’s helping us to hire an additional health care provider, and we are just so very grateful.”
In his remarks, T.C. Baker, general manager of Wallace Subaru of Bristol, highlighted seeing Crossroads Medical Mission’s growth.
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“It’s incredible to see Crossroads grow over the years. I mean, the crew they have out here today seems like every year there’s more and more of them.” Baker said. “We’re happy to support them any way we can, and this check is just another way we can help them grow.”
Until 2022, the Crossroads Medical Mission, a non-profit established in 2002, provided medical care to communities in need across Southwest Virginia and parts of Northeast Tennessee entirely via the Big Cat II, their mobile medical clinic. Rockett highlighted how moving into a brick-and-mortar location this year while also keeping their mobile clinic active has allowed them to reach out to and serve more individuals, families, and communities across the region.
“It really has changed the climate of Crossroads. We’ve got more staff now. We have been able to get community health workers, so we’re able to provide even more services,” Rockett said. “We just see more and more new patients coming to see us.”
As Rockett walked the Herald Courier through the examination rooms inside Big Cat II, she spoke about how the mission is funded via community donations, as well as through Safety Net Healthcare funding from both Tennessee and Virginia.
“COVID changed the picture a little bit because there was a lot of COVID money out there that’s helped us to pay for stuff that’s drying up now, but pre-COVID and now post-COVID, we’re going back to Safety Net funding from the two states, which is about 20 to 30% of our budget,” Rockett said. “Other than that, it’s just generous people from the community and businesses like Wallace Subaru.”
Rockett highlighted that the medical services they provide are similar to those offered at a family practice doctor’s office and emphasized that none of their patients, who tend to be low-income uninsured individuals and families, ever have to pay for their services.
“We kind of get people who are falling through the cracks,” Rockett said. “We do not pass along our costs. So, patients that come to us, they’re uninsured. They’re not paying to see a doctor or nurse practitioner. They’re not paying for their labs. A lot of times, if they’re on expensive medications, we can get those through pharmacy assistance programs.”
The new offices of Crossroads Medical Mission are at 433 Scott St, Bristol, Virginia.
Big Cat II’s schedule can be found online at the Crossroads Medical Mission website.
