PARMA, Ohio -- A new free health care clinic, sponsored by Cleveland’s Muslim community, has opened in Parma to help people who struggle to pay for doctor visits.

The Cleveland Ibn Sina Clinic is inside the Islamic Center of Cleveland, 6055 W. 130th St., Parma. It provides free health care for all community members, not just Muslims, said clinic communications and Public Relations Director Hala Sanyurah.

Patients pay only for prescriptions. The clinic plans to use an annual community fundraiser and donations to meet costs, she said.

The Cleveland Ibn Sina Clinic will hold a grand opening from 5 to 7 p.m., Wednesday, March 27. The event will include giveaways and donation collection.

Regular clinic hours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The clinic was inspired by a similar neighborhood clinic that opened in 2010 in Jacksonville, Florida. Cleveland’s Muslim community realized there was a need for a free clinic to serve people who have no or not enough health insurance, Sanyurah said.

“Health care is not a privilege, but a human right,” she said.

The Parma clinic is a member of the Ohio Association of Free Clinics, and the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics, she said. It is not affiliated with any Northeast Ohio hospital system.

Plans to open the Cleveland Ibn Sina Clinic started about a year ago, and it welcomed its first patients in early March. “We’ve had a great response rate,” Sanyurah said.

Organizers raised about $20,000 in donations to create the clinic, including converting space inside the mosque into two patient rooms and a waiting room. The clinic uses donated medical supplies, and its doctors are donating their time, Sanyurah said. The doctors come from the Muslim communities in Cleveland and Akron, and will rotate through the clinic, working once a month.

The clinic offers primary care and respiratory medicine, as well as care for sleep disorders, asthma, allergies and mental health counseling. Health education also will be a focus. The clinic plans to hold a women’s health day in April to distribute literature about women’s health concerns.

Clinic organizers hope the free clinic model can be extended to other Northeast Ohio locations. “It’s something that can grow,” Sanyurah said.