Orange County clinic will offer free surgeries to help uninsured patients starting in 2025

ORANGE, Calif. (KABC) -- A free medical clinic in Orange County will soon provide surgery for its patients at no cost.

It may not look like much now, but a 4,000-square-foot space in the city of Orange will soon transform into a state-of-the-art surgery center, helping those in the community who need it most.

"We expect this to save lives," said Edward Gerber, executive director at Lestonnac Free Clinic.

The clinic has been providing care for the uninsured since 1979. It offers free primary health care services, dental, vision care and more.

Now, it's the first free clinic in the country to build a surgery center.

"I've been with the clinic 33 years," Gerber said. "I started off here as a patient, so I know what it's like to stand in line in the waiting room and wonder am I going to have to skip dinner tonight because the lab costs are going to be too much that I can't afford?"

The Thompson Family Foundation made a $4 million donation to get the surgery center off the ground, but additional donations are needed.

"We're so excited to be able to create a model for the other free clinics throughout the nation to follow and see how they can help as well," Gerber said.

Patients will be able to get potentially life-saving surgeries free of charge.

"In the beginning minor surgeries like colonoscopies, endoscopies. Some lipoma removals, hernia repairs and minor type surgeries until we get our feet wet and comfortable with what we're doing. And then we may expand out beyond that to do other surgeries," Gerber said.

Dozens of doctors like Dr. Nitin Shah have already pledged to volunteer their time to help the clinic.

"The true happiness comes from serving an unknown. Someone whom you don't know. Someone from whom you don't expect anything back," Dr. Shah said.

Officials at the Lestonnac Free Clinic believe the surgery center will give people an opportunity to live healthy lives.

"We wouldn't build it and spend this kind of money if we didn't think it was going to have a huge impact on the individuals that we serve," Gerber said.

Lestonnac Free Clinic hopes to have a grand opening at the start of the new year, and it plans to start seeing patients in February. Right now, they have about 3,000 people on a waiting list.