PHOENIXVILLE , Pennsylvania ( CNN ) -- After 22 years in private practice and seeing people `` kicked around by the system , '' Dr. Lorna Stuart found herself frustrated with the number of insurance companies and the rules and restrictions that came with them . Because there 's no insurance paperwork , Dr. Lorna Stuart says she has more time to spend talking with patients . `` The day-to-day time that I spent on paperwork was increasing , while my patients were n't getting the good care that I wanted to give them -- face-to-face time , one-on-one time , '' she recalls . `` I vowed to do whatever little I could about this inequity of care . '' For Stuart , that vow came in the form of opening her own clinic and treating the uninsured . `` Every single person knows somebody without health insurance , '' says Stuart . `` There are so many people that fall through the cracks . '' According to the U.S. Census Bureau , approximately 47 million Americans are currently without medical coverage . So Stuart set out to alleviate that problem where she could -- in her old steel town of Phoenixville , Pennsylvania . She confided her desire to start a clinic in the Rev . Marie Swayze , her friend whose parish property was home to a Victorian-style rectory that had become dilapidated from disuse . The two concocted a plan to restore and remodel the mansion into a place that anyone would be happy to visit for quality medical care . Then , leaving private practice , Stuart sold her house and set out to raise $ 400,000 in donated funds , materials and services . In 2002 , these efforts resulted in `` The Clinic : Medical Center for the Uninsured , '' a charitable , sun-filled clinic that has since received more than 40,000 patient visits . Individuals receive free or low-cost primary medical care across eight specialties , regardless of income or locality . Watch Stuart explain how her healthcare dream came true » . `` Since there 's no need to spend a lot of time doing paperwork , we have time to talk to the patient and really hear what they 're saying , '' says Stuart . `` So the patients go away feeling they 've been heard , that they 've been helped . '' An arsenal of more than 100 local volunteers , including 20 retired and practicing physicians , assist Stuart in providing expert medical services to more than 800 patients per month from across the southeastern Pennsylvania , New Jersey and Delaware area . She even invested in Spanish language audiotape lessons to better communicate with her Spanish-speaking clients . Patients are informed that each visit costs about $ 60 , but they are only expected to contribute what they can toward their care . Watch Stuart explain the benefits of visiting `` The Clinic '' » . `` Many patients pay as little as a dollar or even 50 cents for the same dignified care that patients contributing in full receive , '' says Mary Ellen Smith , The Clinic 's medical resource coordinator . Patient contributions account for 20 percent of The Clinic 's $ 900,000 annual operating budget . The rest comes exclusively from private grants and donations . If The Clinic accepted money made available through government aid programs , they would be significantly restricted in terms of whom they would be allowed to treat , and how . For Stuart , giving good old-fashioned care again has restored her sense of fulfillment . Watch Stuart explain how her clinic provides care to the uninsured » . `` Each day , I get to treat the patients whom our medical system has forgotten , without the hassle of insurance paperwork , '' says Stuart . `` Is it any wonder I once again feel the real joy of practicing the craft that I love ? '' E-mail to a friend .
Doctor quit private practice , sold her house to open clinic for uninsured . Stuart is housed in restored Victorian-style rectory in old New Jersey steel town . Patients pay what they can , even if 50 cents or as little as a dollar . With help from volunteers , including doctors , clinic has reveived 20 patient visits .