A free clinic that provides dental, vision and hearing care will return to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center this weekend. The Mission of Mercy clinic will offer dental exams and procedures as well as eye and hearing exams to children and adults free of charge.
The clinic is spearheaded by A Call to Care. Keith Young, chairman of the Pittsburgh nonprofit, said the clinic aims to improve access to important health care as costs skyrocket out of reach for many in Southwestern Pennsylvania. “The vast majority of people that we work with are those folks that are making a decision to sustain paying the rent, buying food for the kids, or having the dental care done,” he said.
The clinic also expects to care for military veterans and people who are experiencing homelessness. The event is free to everyone, offering services to people ages two and up. There are no pre-registration or eligibility requirements.
The clinic opens at 6 a.m. each day and closes once capacity is reached for the day.
Appointments are first-come, first-served. Last year, the clinic served more than 1,700 patients and conducted 9,517 dental procedures. About 1,600 volunteers — including dentists, opticians, ophthalmologists, clinicians, nurses and imaging technicians — are expected to care for patients Friday and Saturday.
The clinic primarily focused on dental procedures when it held its first event in 2017. But for the last two years, Mission of Mercy has expanded services to include vision and .
