The staff and volunteer physicians at the Charlottesville Free Clinic helped more than 3,000 patients in 2025—more than 1,600 of them new to the clinic—obtain medical and dental care. Roughly 40 percent of those patients earned less than the federal poverty line of $15,650 for individuals or $32,150 for a family of four. More than three-fourths of the clinic’s patients make less than 200 percent of the federal poverty line, and roughly half make 138 percent or less. As the Free Clinic braces for an increase in patients amid federal cuts to health care assistance, we put Executive Director Willa Barnhardt in the HotSeat to learn more about how it’s coping.
Name: Willa Barnhardt
Pronouns: She/her
Hometown: Los Angeles
Job: Executive Director of the Charlottesville Free Clinic
What’s the one thing you wish everyone knew about the Charlottesville Free Clinic? It provides completely free medical care, dental care, and prescriptions to uninsured and under‑insured adults in our community—no strings attached.
The clinic exists so that people who fall through the cracks of the health care system can still get high‑quality, compassionate care. It’s powered by a huge volunteer network and funded largely by individual donations, which means the community is both giving and receiving care through the same place.
This is the piece I think people often don’t realize: It’s not just a safety‑net clinic—it’s a community-built model of what equitable, accessible health care can look like.
What percentage of your patients have no insurance at all? Eighty-eight percent of our medical clinic patients can’t afford health insurance.
How have your patient counts changed over the past year? Our patient numbers have been growing over the last several years. There was a 19 percent increase in patient visits for our medical clinic and a 33 percent increase in patient visits for our dental clinic between this year and last year.
What kind of changes do you anticipate as more of these cuts take effect? As health care becomes increasingly unaffordable, the Free Clinic anticipates serving a growing number of patients. We are a critical health care safety net for this community, and our role is to ensure that our neighbors continue to have access to care so the community as a whole remains healthy and strong.
If people reading this want to help you, what can they do? The Charlottesville Free Clinic is deeply grateful for the generosity of our community as we look to the future. Support in the form of donations has a direct and meaningful impact on our ability to care for more patients who need access to a doctor, dentist, or medications they could not otherwise afford. Community support truly makes this work possible.
How did you get into this line of work? I have a background in marketing and have worked across a variety of industries. After my daughters were born, I decided to pivot my career. If I was going to spend time away from them, I wanted that time to be spent with an organization that truly serves the community. I found the Free Clinic and was immediately hooked.
What do you do to relax and unwind? Relaxing and unwinding usually involves chasing my 3-year-old or cheering on one of my daughters at their games. Sometimes I get to sneak in a movie with my husband.
What’s your proudest accomplishment? My family.
What do you wish you could do better? Honestly, everything. But if I had to narrow it down, I’d say I wish I spoke Spanish more fluently and played tennis a bit better.
What’s the best part about living in Charlottesville? Charlottesville has a truly welcoming, community-centered spirit. People here genuinely care about one another, and that sense of neighborliness makes the city special. I see it every day at the Free Clinic through the generosity of our volunteers. Doctors, dentists, nurses, and community members freely give their time to care for their neighbors, our patients, and that collective commitment to one another is a powerful reflection of what makes Charlottesville such a wonderful place to live.
What’s the worst part about living in Charlottesville? Connecting flights.
What’s your Bodo’s order? If I indulge, it’s bacon, egg, and cheese on a cinnamon raisin, and if I’m being good, it’s a Cleo.
Who’d play you in a movie? Shelley Long would be fun! In one of my first jobs as an NBC page, we were all assigned actors and actresses, and I was given Amanda Peet. But that was about 20 years ago, and I don’t really agree with it.
If you could change one thing about the world for good, what would you change, and how? Everyone should have access to health care no matter their income. Physical health shouldn’t be a luxury, which is why the Free Clinic exists and people support it.
