Blue ridge Free Clinic adds mental health, dental annex

HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) – The Blue Ridge Free Clinic has added a mental and dental clinic annex to their building, providing a workspace for their dental and mental health workers to take care of patients next to the clinic.

Staff said they hope to provide more services to those in need in all areas of their lives.

“Our mission statement is that we provide holistic care for all of our patients, and that means body, mind, spirit, soul, and teeth … this is a dream come true,” said Susan Adamson, Family Nurse Practitioner, and Blue Ridge Free Clinic Executive Director.

Adamson said that serving people more comprehensively is something that the clinic finds vital.

“At this clinic, we don’t just look at somebody’s mouth and take care of that, or just look at their blood pressure, we do an assessment for all of their needs when they come in that are related to health, and try to address them, Adamson said.

When the opportunity came to the clinic’s door to provide more health care opportunities, Adamson said staff took it with no hesitation.

“When we had this opportunity, all things came together for us to be able to expand into this annex right next door to the medical clinic. We took it because we know that dental health is just as important as physical health, because it’s all interrelated,” she explained.

But that’s not all; after evaluating the clinic’s needs, staff realized there’s more they can do to make others’ lives easier.

“Sometimes we need to Uber patients here for their dental care, and we have a compassionate fund for that, and we have funds that people can donate to if they’re interested in helping us with that,” she said.

Funding has been a big part of why BRFC has been able to accomplish what it has so far, according to Adamson.

“The whole mission of the Blue Ridge Free Clinic is donor and volunteer driven. We have over 100 volunteers, donors, and grants, including Sentara RMH. Grant money has made this possible,” Adamson said.

She then added that if it weren’t for the community, the clinic couldn’t do what it does.

Greg Johnson, Dentist and Dental Director at Blue Ridge Free Clinic shared how he can provide dental care more efficiently to those who may not be able to afford it.

“This is dentistry that’s just now coming to the free Clinic, so this is essentially a brand new office with state-of-the-art equipment. We’ve got three treatment rooms, and we’ll be able to see a lot of people,” Johnson said.

He said that now people do not have to stress over dental health, and can now help people and give back to the community using his expertise.

“It’s I think it’s an addition instead of having to refer out to other professionals, we can take care of a lot of issues right here,” he said. “For some people, this is a way to bridge that gap, to be able to take care of the people that really need the help, but just can’t afford it.”

Adamson said that the community can expect the mental health clinic to be up and running in about a month.

Copyright 2025 WHSV. All rights reserved.