ORANGE PARK – For the first time in three years, Don Fann doesn’t need to close his eyes to imagine what The Way Free Medical Clinic on College Drive will look like.

All he has to do is walk through the 5,100-square-foot site and watch workers framing walls and pouring concrete.

With every nail driven, the medical and dental care facility for uninsured and under-insured residents is becoming a reality.

“We worked as a team of doctors and architects and others to design what the clinic’s functionality was going to look like,” the executive director said. “It was always a concept on paper, and then once they started laying the framing the interior framing, I could actually walk inside the exam rooms and say, ‘Yeah, this exam room is bigger than the one that I was in when I was at a doctor last time.’

“All of a sudden, it seemed real.”

The state sent The Way $290,000 last week as part of the $1.45 million that was approved this fiscal year by the legislature and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Along with other in-kind donations, it was enough to get the project off the ground.

The Way started in 2006 and spent five years at the Sacred Heart Church in Green Cove Springs. It moved to 479 Houston St. between the county’s administration building and courthouse, but Fann said they’ve outgrown the 3,300-square-foot center. And with land becoming so valuable in the downtown area, he knew a new home eventually would be needed.

Fann then got a call from Karen King that changed everything. She wanted to donate a 5,100-square-foot commercial building at 302 College Dr., across the street from St. Johns River State College.

The new clinic will be 7,300 square feet, including an expansion to the existing building. And if work stays on schedule, it could be opened by July.

Since the county’s free dental services were about to end with the construction of a new firehouse on Idlewild Avenue in Green Cove Springs, the county asked Fann to include dental at the new clinic.

“Three years ago, when she donated the property, the concept has really evolved over time,” Fann said. “Once we got our design set, we couldn’t start until we had the money. The silent phase of the campaign started. All of those institutional partners that may have, or maybe in some cases, haven’t given us money for operating expenses in the past came on board. They saw this as a great thing.”

Fann said the final bill for The Way on College Drive will be at least $2.6 million.

The rest of the money from the state will come as reimbursements for expenses. Fann said The Way still needs financial support because the project can’t afford delays while it waits for the state to make payments.

“We still need an additional $400,000 for that project alone,” Fann said. “I’m confident Clay County will come through for its most needy neighbors.”

The Way provides free care to residents within 200% of the national poverty guideline. For a single adult, that’s $29,000 a year. Fann said if someone is making car and rent payments, that doesn’t leave enough for medical care.

The clinic has served as many as 20,000 uninsured, low-income county residents, providing free medical care, including primary care, specialty care for diabetes, respiratory disease, hypertension, and obstetrical and prenatal care for pregnant women, leading to a healthy live birth.

“The Way Clinic provides $5 million in care annually on a budget of less than $750,000,” Fann said. “The return on investment is indisputable, not to mention the lives we save, which are priceless.”