New EJI Health Clinic to provide free screenings, services to formerly incarcerated

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - A new health clinic will provide free health screenings and other services across Alabama to people recently released from jail or prison.

The Equal Justice Initiative Health Clinic will be headquartered in Montgomery and will provide free screenings and limited care for a range of diseases and illnesses.

“With hundreds of thousands of uninsured people in Alabama, access to health care remains a critical problem. People die of chronic diseases in Alabama that patients survive in other jurisdictions,” EJI said in a release. “The mortality rate within Alabama’s prisons is one of the highest in the country. People coming out of jails and prisons suffer from undiagnosed illnesses that can seriously compromise their health and successful re-entry.”

EJI Health also has a mobile clinic that will travel to underserved areas across the state to provide health support and assistance to those in need.

“It’s clear that we could improve public safety, reduce crime, and lower the recidivism rate if we focused more on health care for people in jails and prisons and those who are released. We believe EJI Health can make a positive contribution to helping people re-enter society but also promote healthier communities and improved public safety,” said EJI Director Bryan Stevenson.

EJI, which already supports hundreds of families experiencing food insecurity across the state, will supplement that anti-poverty initiative with free health services.

“We have a very talented team of health care providers that will be assisting some of the most vulnerable people in Alabama,” said Stevenson.

The program took shape earlier after months of work by the clinic’s full-time health managers, Mary Ellen Luck and Meghan Hunter, who have years of healthcare management experience and graduate degrees in business from the Stanford Business School, EJI said. Legal and anti-poverty staff at EJI will work closely with the clinicians and patient-clients in providing multiple services.

For more information about the clinic or to schedule an appointment, people recently released from custody can call EJI Health at 334-239-9740 or email ejihealth@eji.org.

EJI has provided legal assistance to poor people imprisoned for over 30 years and has recently expanded its work to confront poverty across the state.

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