Florida Keys Evacuees Can Get Free Care At South Florida Family Health

MIAMI, FL — Evacuees from the Florida Keys will receive free medical care for their first visit to South Florida Family Health and Research Centers, the company announced Thursday afternoon.

The center made the announcement on Twitter, and CEO Tim Rivera confirmed the offer to Patch. If you've been forced to leave your home in the Florida Keys, you can visit either of the company's two locations, one in Miami-Dade County and one in Broward County, and have your initial visit free of charge.

Rivera said he saw the destruction and tragedy brought by Hurricane Irma and was blown away. He was watching the local news and saw that other organizations and providers were offering assistance to those affected by the storm. (For more information about the recovery from Hurricane Irma, subscribe for free to the Miami Patch and receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you're outside of Miami, find your local Florida Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

"Why can’t we give an office visit for free?" Rivera asked himself.

"We can’t offer that to everybody," he said, but he decided it would be the right to offer what he could to help Irma's victims.

"We’re not a large organization," he said. "We’re just a primary care practice."

Rivera said he expects to sees people affected by the storm come in with respiratory issues and struggling with the heat. Many people who were forced to leave their homes just need help getting refills of medications.

"We had a patient come in yesterday," he said. "She said she was living in her car with here dad. She said she needed a medication refill."

Some people might need additional visits if, for instance, the clinic does blood work that discovers a significant issue. The clinic can't cover the costs of additional visits, though a patient's health insurance may provide help with any further costs.

For more information, the Miami-Dade clinic can be reached at 305-387-0051; the Broward clinic's number is 954-791-0711. Learn more about the South Florida Family Health and Research Centers at its website.

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images