About VIMO
VIMO is a non-profit medical clinic in Port Angeles, Washington. We provide limited health care services to adults on the Olympic Peninsula who have no health insurance and no other health care options available to them.
Our operations are funded by generous funding partners and donations from individuals committed to providing health care to those truly in need. Individuals and corporations also give in-kind support and contribute through United Way.
All medical care at VIMO is provided by a small support staff and volunteers, primarily from the health professions. Many of our volunteers are retired doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners.
Beginning January 1st, 2008, a $5 administrative fee is asked for each visit—payable at the time of the visit. By paying a small fee, patients will be helping to cover some of our operating costs and keep their clinic open.
Why We Do It
When the first Volunteers in Medicine (VIM) Clinic was conceived, organizing members believed that everyone benefits in some fashion from a community committed to helping one another. They recognized that traditional medical clinics typically provide efficient medical treatments and procedures for those who can pay, either through private or government insurance.
The Volunteers in Medicine Institute's “Culture of Caring” approach is based on an ethical standard in medicine that acknowledges how people are treated during a clinic visit is as important as the actual medical care they receive. People who come to a Volunteers in Medicine (VIM) clinic are our friends and neighbors, good people in need of help. Surviving on limited resources, they often exhibit great courage simply trying to get though each day.
The VIM “Culture of Caring” recognizes the strengths of those in need and respects their dignity. Policies and procedures for implementing and maintaining the “Culture of Caring” must be established as a required component in all Volunteers in Medicine clinics.
For the VIM Clinic volunteers, one of their primary responsibilities is to create a nurturing, non-judgmental clinic environment for all patients and fellow volunteers. It is the established belief of the Volunteers in Medicine Institute and its Alliance membership that those who give care within the “Culture of Caring” experience as much healing as those who receive the care.
