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REIDSVILLE — The Free Clinic of Rockingham County can't see patients an average of two days a month because of a lack of medical providers.

That's a blow to the uninsured people who visit the clinic to get treatment for the flu, or for help with managing chronic illnesses such as diabetes, said its executive director, Leslie Deaton.

Deaton calls them the "population that suffers in silence."

"They're low income. They generally don't have a voice that is heard," she said.

"It's a tremendous feeling of helplessness because you know that they are suffering and they have no options — short of the emergency room."

The clinic, struggling to attract health care providers, is hoping to draw attention to its plight with its biggest fundraiser yet, the Snowflake Ball.

The goal is to raise $75,000. As of late Tuesday afternoon, only four of the $50 tickets for the event remained unsold.

For Deaton, the gala event has one goal: draw on the generosity of the community to continue serving the clinic's patient population. "We were wanting to unite all the philanthropic sectors of the county," she said.

A lack of medical providers is an ongoing problem for the free clinic, which opened in May 1998 and initially served only Reidsville residents.

Charitable trusts, private foundations and donations from private individuals keep the clinic afloat.

The clinic has 10 doctors and six nurse practitioners who volunteer their time when they can. "Some come monthly, some come quarterly, others come as many as several times a month," Deaton said.

The clinic fills up quickly for medical visits, she said, and there is a lengthy waiting list for the dental clinic.

George Penn, a clinic board member, once questioned whether organizers would be able to sell 200 tickets.

The event is more than six months in the making and has been challenging, Penn said. But over the past six weeks, "the community has just opened their arms to this thing."

The ball will be held at Chinqua Penn Plantation. Its headliner is Penn's daughter, singer and songwriter Vaughan Penn.

Contact Jonnelle Davis at 627-4881, Ext. 126, or jonnelle.davis@news-record.com