On Monday [October 17, 2011], nearly 5,000 people with a variety of health conditions lined up outside the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena to receive wristbands to gain admittance to a no-cost medical clinic that begins later this week, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The clinic will open Thursday [October 20, 2011] and run through Sunday [October 23, 2011]. It will include volunteer services by medical professionals such as cardiologists, dentists and podiatrists.

Details of the Clinic

The Los Angeles-based not-for-profit organization CareNow is operating the clinic.

According to CareNow, the goal of the clinic is to offer no-cost dental, medical and vision care for about 1,200 uninsured and underserved individuals daily. Last year’s clinic served about 6,000 individuals.

The Times reports that many individuals who will seek care at the clinic are unemployed, uninsured, have jobs that do not offer health coverage or are enrolled in Medi-Cal, which does not cover most dental care. Medi-Cal is California’s Medicaid program.

CareNow plans to provide follow-up care for those who need it after the clinic ends.