Roanoke Valley's homeless will soon have a new place to get medical care

There's not a band-aid big enough to keep a local medical clinic that treats homeless patients from bursting at the seams.

The free medical clinic operated by Roanoke's largest homeless shelter has seen such an increase, "We've just run out of space," said Stephanie Sylvester-Johnson. 

Its cramped quarters no longer seem adequate.

"Imagine three nurses and three physicians trying to complete what they need to complete in this work station," said Sylvester-Johnson. 

In 2007, the medical clinic logged more than 6,000 visits from patients. By 2009, the number was approximately 13,230 patient visits, which is why this coming weekend is such a big deal.

"You can see some of the dental equipment is already getting put in place over here," said Lee Clark, with the rescue mission. 

On Sunday, down the street from the old clinic, a new stand-alone clinic will be dedicate.  About a million dollars in private donations made it possible.

"The combination of dental, medical and psychiatric are really, will help people to get into permanent housing quicker, into jobs quicker and out of shelters, which is our goal all the while," said Clark. 

The new clinic won't be ready until March, and the staff already believes more room will translate into even more patients.

"They do a great service for us here," said Jessica Ledingham, patient.

And now they'll be able to have an even larger impact on those who need it most.