St Clare Health Mission

In 1992, St. Clare Health Mission was started by Sister LeClare Beres, a FSPA contemporary of Saint Francis. She renounced all of her possessions, even giving away her shoes, as she devoted her life to the care of the poor. Partaking in her vision, representatives of health and social service organizations throughout our community began a collaborative effort to address health care access for the poor and uninsured. Through St. Clare Health Mission, volunteer healthcare providers joined together to provide free healthcare to those who had gone without due to a lack of financial resources. The term “health mission” describes not only the program, but the motivation which guides it. In the past 30 years, volunteers have served over 18,000 people in over 80,000 visits to our clinic, treating a wide variety of health conditions.

The St. Clare Health Mission is operated with the support and involvement of interested individuals and health and social service agencies throughout the La Crosse area. The Mission exists to provide preventive, primary health care, and specialty services for those without access to insurance and healthcare. This will be achieved through: Biweekly clinic nights, properly equipped and staffed to administer healthcare Partnerships with our local health systems to provide optimal care Volunteer opportunities for physicians, dentists, nurses, social workers and other professional and support staff to enjoy the intrinsic rewards associated with service, and opportunities for students and residents in these disciplines to achieve practical experience Collaboration with other local health and human service nonprofit