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The Community Care Clinic of Dare (CCCD) is a member of the North Carolina Association of Free and Charitable Clinics, providing healthcare, medication assistance and wellness education to financially strained and uninsured persons in Dare County. They are largely staffed by local experienced medical professionals to address immediate health concerns, manage chronic health conditions and medications, and provide services such as primary care, dental care, mental health care, addiction and patient resources.

CCCD executive director Lyn Jenkins, RN, BSN, understands how essential access to care is and is dedicated to expanding services throughout Dare County. “Integrating medical, dental, mental health, and pharmacy services at CCCD helps our local workers and residents receive whole, patient-centered care for the opportunity to reach their optimal health. CCCD is accepting new patients and expanding access at the satellite clinic in Frisco.”

Founded in 2005, CCCD was built through a partnership between the Albemarle Hospital Foundation, Dare County Department of Public Health and the Outer Banks Hospital. The mission of the clinic has always been to respond to the needs of the uninsured and underinsured within the Dare community. “I retired after 35 years in medical practice management in the insured world,” said Linda Leiser, CCCD operations/outreach administration. “It is so humbling to feel that we are making a difference in uninsured patients’ lives at CCCD. We sense the gratitude on a daily basis.”

Their two locations – Nags Head and Frisco – have helped to better serve patients across the county. CCCD provides primary (non-emergency) medical care, specialty care referrals, prescription medications in the onsite pharmacy, vouchers and prescription assistance programs, health education, inter-agency referrals and immediate referrals for mental health.

“I’ve been working for the Community Care Clinic on and off since 2009. But since I retired, I have been there at least once a week to take care of the uninsured and underinsured in our community,” said Leslie DeLigio, a nurse practitioner with CCCD. “I feel the need to give back to the Outer Banks people just as they’ve given to me for the past 40 years. My patients are grateful to have someone to take care of them medically and I am happy to share my knowledge with them. One of my patients told me the reason she comes to see me is because I always explain whatever she needs to know in a way that she can understand exactly what’s going on with her problem. The staff there are supportive and truly generous people.”

Services such as mental health, substance use counseling and addiction treatment are crucial resources which the clinic provides. Patients have the opportunity to connect with licensed clinical social workers, mental health nurse practitioners, psychologists, psychiatrists and/or licensed substance use counselors from a comfortable, private counseling room at CCCD. Outpatient addiction treatment for opioids and alcohol substance use is available, and their Vivitrol program is open to everyone in the community regardless of insurance status or financial status. This medication is a non-narcotic, monthly injection that prevents relapse of opioid dependence after opioid detox and treatment of alcohol dependence.

CCCD also has an Employers 4 Care program, available to local businesses that want to help employees access health care. CCCD will waive the admin fee and provide primary care services to eligible employees when an employer makes a donation to the clinic. This is an affordable solution for employers to offer a healthcare benefit to employees for a variety of reasons, including removing barriers to improved employee health, reducing the financial stress of healthcare, offer employee benefits and more.

In 2024, the clinic made noteworthy progress in furthering their service to community members. A new dental clinic was established, offering preventive and restorative care; physical therapy and mental telehealth appointments began; a partnership with the Outer Banks Restaurant Association was formed; and bi-weekly free food distribution events began in collaboration with the Food Bank of the Albemarle.

Over the past 16 months, CCCD has helped serve 1,577 households with a total of 5,247 neighbors. Volunteer hours amounted to around 800 for 2024. “Food cultures are very different. Working with our patient’s cultural food preferences has helped them to adjust without asking them to eliminate most foods,” shared Barbara Schultz, diabetes educator.

Justine Koksal, program director at Food Bank of the Albemarle, expressed her gratitude for the partnership with CCCD and said it has been a “truly special” addition to the Dare community. “It’s just a great culture that the Community Care Clinic has built with the community. They really come together to do a good thing, and the volunteers are absolutely wonderful.”

The mobile food pantry events are free to members of the community who are experiencing food insecurity. Neighbors can choose from a dynamic variety of foods that are brought in from the food pantry, with options such as healthy choice boxes, diabetic-friendly foods, bakery items, fruits and vegetables, shelf-stable goods and much more. Volunteers from CCCD help set up and organize the food and even provide guidance and suggestions to those who come through. “They really get to know the neighbors and help pick out the food their interested in,” Koksal shared.

For those wanting to learn more about CCCD and the services they offer, visit their website at dareclinic.org or call 252-261-3041.

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