As happened in 1987, when The Actors’ Fund created The AIDS Initiative in concert with the establishment of funding support from Equity Fight AIDS, in 2003 The Actors’ Fund established The Al Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic with an initial grant of
$300,000 from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Dedicated to the memory of the famed Broadway caricaturist who died in January 2002 just short of his 100th birthday, The Al Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic was initially located in three small offices on the 2nd floor of The Aurora, adjacent to The Colleen Dewhurst Community Rooms.

In 2004, BC/EFA provided an outright grant of $325,000 to The Actors’ Fund for the operation of The Hirschfeld Clinic. In June 2004, an additional one-time grant of $300,000 was made to The Fund to pay for the clinic’s renovation and move to the 4th floor of The Aurora Residence where it now occupies a suite of offices and examination rooms taking up half the entire floor. This enables Dr. Jim Spears and his staff to serve double the number of clients who otherwise would lack access to adequate medical care.

The Hirschfeld Clinic was launched to address the very clear, immediate need of members of the entertainment community who are uninsured or underinsured. People who work in the entertainment industry are often uninsured. They work in uncertain careers and may not make medical care a priority, ignoring symptoms, concealing diagnoses, and putting off treatment.

With the contributed services of a corps of physician volunteers under the full-time direction of Dr. Spears and working in collaboration with Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, The Hirschfeld Clinic provides necessary medical services and works to prevent illness and emergency room visits that result from neglecting health care.

The Clinic provides primary and specialty care, health screenings, and patient education. Lab testing provided through the Clinic is free to uninsured patients. The Clinic is open five days a week and has a physician on-call even when closed. Primary care includes routine preventive medical care, ongoing management of medical problems, and urgent sick visits. Specialty care is provided following an evaluation by a primary care doctor. Then a referral is made to a specialist – whenever possible, to a volunteer specialist at the Clinic. Preventative care includes flu vaccinations, mammograms, prostate exams, breast examinations, tuberculosis and diabetes screening, blood pressure and cholesterol testing, and vision screening.

At a series of annual health fairs offered in partnership with New York Presbyterian Hospital and Better Wellness and You (BWAY), the clinic provides a broader scope of diagnostic screenings, including measurements of blood pressure, cholesterol levels and blood glucose, as well as mammograms for hundreds of health fair participants.

The Hirschfeld Clinic physicians are sensitive to these health issues and aware of the warning signs of neglect, malnutrition, substance abuse, and mental health concerns. If needed, eligible patients are also referred to The Actors’ Fund social service programs, through which they may receive individual counseling, referrals, and financial assistance toward living expenses. Many individuals who receive social services and case management at The Actors’ Fund first made contact with the organization at an initial visit to The Hirschfeld Clinic.

BC/EFA considers its support for The Al Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic to be an important new priority in the catalogue of services funded at The Actors Fund, and in 2006 provided $500,000 in financial support for its ongoing operation, enabling doctors at the clinic to see 1,088 patients and provide a total of 1,857 client visits in such areas as dermatology, family and general medicine, infectious diseases, and internal medicine.