Project Access (Medical Foundation of Chattanooga)

Mission: To help uninsured individuals get the health care they need by linking local physicians, hospitals, and local health clinics that agree to donate their services to the individuals and families in need of health care services.

Project Access is a community charity that coordinates specialty medical care between physicians, hospitals, and other community partners that donate their services, and local residents who don’t qualify for other programs.

The Project Access model was originated in Buncombe County, North Carolina, in 1996. In 2002, the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society and then-President Joseph Cofer, MD, began work to bring the program to Hamilton County. Project Access saw its first patient in April 2004.

The program is managed by the Medical Foundation of Chattanooga (MFC), and 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation established and funded by physicians of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society in 1986. The Foundation’s mission is to support and promote programs that result in the continual improvement of community health. The Foundation is governed by an 18-member board of directors that includes fourteen physicians, many of whom are past and present leaders of the Medical Society, and five non-physician members.

Project Access maintains a network of area physicians, hospitals, community clinics, and other partners who donate their services. Patients who need help with specialty care are referred to Project Access by their primary care physician. If eligible to enroll in the Project Access network, we will identify specialists and schedule your appointments. Most services are are provided at no cost to the patient.