Lestonnac Free Clinic has opened a new free-of-charge surgery center in Orange County, Calif., according to a May 3 report from LAist.
The facility will be the first free surgery center in the U.S. The clinic has been providing healthcare for uninsured patients since 1979, offering free primary care services.
A network of surgeons staffing the clinic will volunteer their time, providing hernia repairs, cataract surgeries and colonoscopies, among other procedures.
The clinic employs more than 300 licensed medical professionals, including more than 20 licensed surgeons and 14 anesthesiologists, according to the report.
The 4,000-square-foot clinic, which was originally slated to open in February, will start performing surgeries in mid-June.
The clinic currently has around 3,000 patients on its waiting list, and expects to treat 700 of those in the first year. It relies on private donors, and recently received a $4 million donation from the Thompson Family Foundation dedicated to opening the surgery center.
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