Compassionate Care Comes Together at PFC

When Maria came to Phoenixville Free Clinic, she was already carrying more than most people should have to bear.

At 45 years old, she is living with Advanced Systemic Sclerosis—an aggressive autoimmune disease that affects multiple organs and has no cure. Like so many of our patients, Maria’s care focuses not on “fixing” the disease, but on managing symptoms, preserving quality of life, and ensuring she is not navigating this journey alone.

Maria began her care at PFC with her primary care provider, Dr. Steele, a volunteer physician at the PFC. As her condition progressed, she was connected to our volunteer rheumatologist, Dr. Gao, and what happened next is a powerful example of what makes Phoenixville Free Clinic so special.

During a single visit, Dr. Gao collaborated closely with Maria’s PCP, our volunteer hospice and palliative care physician and our staff - behavioral health team, community health worker, and administrative staff. Through our strong partnership with Paoli Hospital, our team quickly secured and reviewed pulmonology consult notes, ensuring her treatment plan reflected the most current specialist recommendations and hospital-based care. 

In less than two hours, six different care teams—spanning clinic-based volunteers, staff providers, and hospital partners—worked together to coordinate a thoughtful, compassionate plan tailored specifically to Maria’s needs.

This level of multidisciplinary collaboration is rare anywhere. For an uninsured patient, it is almost unheard of.

But at Phoenixville Free Clinic, this is what happens when volunteers, staff and partners work together with one shared purpose: to ensure every patient receives care with dignity, coordination, and respect—regardless of their ability to pay.