Sandy Hilliker has been in the nursing industry for nearly 50 years, working in management roles, critical care and surgery.

Despite retiring in 2012, Hilliker wasn't quite ready to lose her nursing skills and touch with the community. She started her next chapter in her 50-year nursing tenure as a volunteer nurse with the St. Matthews Medical Clinic in 2013.

With added personnel at the clinic, St. Matthews Medical Clinic is expanding its available services to patients by adding an extra clinic a week to accommodate more patients. The clinic currently has 54 volunteers to serve patients.

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The clinic, founded in 2012 located inside the HNS Life Center at 1511 E. 11th St., Suite 170 in Loveland, is one of two completely free primary care clinics available in Larimer County. It does no financial screenings and doesn't ask for insurance information.

As the clinic adds more staff capable of serving patients in the area, Hilliker said it is trying to expand the client base as well.

"I do think that we are kind of a best kept secret," she said. "Not a lot of people know we exist here in a certain community."

The clinic, which considers itself primary care, can provide patients with a number of services, ranging from prescribing simple medications to caring for patients with long-term chronic health issues.

St. Matthews is completely funded by grants and individual donations, Hilliker said, and all staff members are volunteers to keep operational costs low.

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The only other clinic of its kind is Christ Clinic, which was founded in 2012 after Rich and Kathy Simmons noticed a critical shortage of accessible health care for people in the Fort Collins area.

Christ Clinic operates two locations in Fort Collins, one out of Faith Church, 3920 S. Shields St., and one out of Mountain View Community Church, 328 Remington St.

Christ Clinic is a set-up and take-down clinic, Rich Simmons said, so the setup inside the churches is only temporary. During the scheduled clinics, the volunteer staff can provide patients with standard primary care up to and excluding pregnancy and chronic pain care.

Both Christ Clinic and St. Matthew's Medical Clinic take clients by appointment only.

Christ Clinic has continued to grow its operations to accommodate more patients, Simmons said. The clinic now has the ability to schedule as many as 20 patients in a day at the Faith Church location and 12 at Mountain View Community Church.

As both clinics expand services to accommodate more people, the stigma that can come with the idea of a free clinic looms over their potential patients. At Christ Clinic, Rich Simmons said simply showing up to a church can present challenges.

"It takes a real need, particularly if you don’t go to church, to go into a church building, to admit that you need free care," he said.

For others, it can simply be the idea that they do not qualify as someone who should access free care, Hilliker said.

"People think there is a stigma attached and it is not for them," Hilliker said. "And if you are working with insurance, you might not even think to look for a free clinic or find yourself on a break when it comes to health insurance.

"So we’re thinking we do see some of those clients now, but we are hoping to expand that."

Free and low-cost medical clinics in Larimer County

Christ Clinic

Location: Faith Church at 3920 S. Shields St. in Fort Collins and Mountain View Community Church at 328 Remington St. in Fort Collins

Hours: 6 to 8 p.m. Mondays at Faith Church; 9 to 11 a.m. the first Saturday of every month and 6 to 8:30 p.m. the third Friday of every month at Mountain View

Cost: Free

Services available: Simple ambulatory procedures, well woman exams, student sport physicals, limited laboratory testing. All visits by appointment only.

For more information: christclinicfc.org

St. Matthew's Medical Clinic

Location: Inside the HNS Life Center, 1511 E. 11th St., Suite 170 in Loveland

Hours: Open some Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings and most Thursday evenings

Cost: Free

Services available: Preventive care services and treatments are available as well as chronic and acute disease management. Labs and x-rays are not available at the clinic, but patients can be referred to the most affordable option in the area. Spanish-speaking staff are available. All visits are by appointment only.

For more information: stmatthewsmedicalclinic.org

Salud Family Health Centers

Location: Fort Collins Blue Spruce Clinic at 1635 Blue Spruce Drive and Fort Collins West Clinic at 1830 Laporte Ave.

Hours Blue Spruce location: Medical services available from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays and 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays Dental care available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays Pharmacy services from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays West Clinic location: Medical services offered from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays Dental care available from 8 a.m. through 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays

Cost: Sliding scale

Services available: Salud clinics provide a range of services, from family and pediatric medicine to pregnancy care and cancer screenings.

For more information: saludclinic.org

Alpha Center

Location: 1212 S. College St. in Fort Collins

Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays

Cost: Free

Services available: Alpha Center provides health care and services related to sexual health, including pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, STD testing and treatment, and counseling, among others. The center does not perform or refer abortion services.

For more information:thealphacenter.org

Sunrise Community Health

Location: Loveland Community Health Center at 302 Third St. SE in Loveland and Sunrise SummitStone Clinic at 1250 N. Wilson Ave. in Loveland

Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays

Cost: Sliding scale

Services available: Sunrise Community Health provides a range of services, including medical, dental, lab work and health education, among others.

For more information:sunrisecommunityhealth.org

Meredith Spelbring is a multimedia reporting intern for the Coloradoan. Follow her on Twitter @mere0415.