For more than 16 years, The Marie Blanchard Friendship Clinic has been quietly saving lives and restoring health to Idaho adults who are uninsured or under-insured. As demand for our services continues to increase, so has our need for community support.

  • Since it’s founding in 2004, the Clinic has provided over 8,000 patient visits and logged more than 10,000 volunteer hours.
  • Students from the School of Nursing at Boise State, the Physicians’ Assistant Program at ISU, and the University of Washington WWAMI Medical School as well as medical residents from the Boise Veterans Affairs Medical Center have gained real world experience while providing our patients with high quality care.
  • Beyond standard medical services, we offer physical therapy, counseling, and dietary guidance.

Where Hope and Healing Abound

Here are examples of the many ways the Marie Blanchard Friendship Clinic (MBFC) serves Idahoans:

Life Saving Diagnosis

Christine,* a young mother, found a lump in her breast almost a year before she found MBFC. After providing a physical exam, the volunteer health professionals at MBFC scheduled her for a mammogram at St. Luke’s and then a biopsy.  A lumpectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation followed.  She is a breast cancer survivor because the MBFC provided a free exam and facilitated the care that saved her life!

Mental Health Counseling

Roger* hadn’t left his house for eight years.  Although he was physically capable of being out and about, he was a prisoner in his home due to acute mental illness.  The counselling and medications he received through MBFC helped free him from the shackles of mental illness that kept him home bound.  Today, he is living a much more full and healthy life.

Diabetes Care

When Amina* arrived at MBFC, she had not taken long-acting insulin or eaten any food for four days. She had cut her short-acting insulin in half to make it last longer and had no resources to treat her severe Type 1 Brittle Diabetes. MBFC provided a medical exam and free insulin for her immediate need, and then helped her gain ongoing access to insulin through the St. Vincent de Paul Patient Assistance Program.  MBFC saved her life and helped her ensure long-term access to life-saving medication.

*Patient names have been changed