About Project Access®
Founded in 1996, Project Access® is a ground-breaking physician volunteer initiative providing access to comprehensive medical care for low-income uninsured Buncombe and Madison County residents. We are now partnering with organizations in McDowell, Mitchell and Yancey counties to provide access to speciality care. More than 2,500 individuals receive healthcare through Project Access® annually. The WCMS Project Access® model has been replicated all over the country, with similar programs operated by organizations in over 30 states.
Project Access® celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2021 and made a video about the program. Watch the video in English here and in Spanish here and learn more about the program, its impact and some of the people who have helped make it successful!
How Project Access® Works
Our dedicated network of more than 700 Buncombe County physicians along with Mission Hospital, local pharmacies, WCMS Interpreter Network Interpreters, mental health providers, community service navigators and other generous volunteers -- all supported by donations from businesses and individuals in the community -- provide healthcare through Project Access® to individuals in Buncombe and Madison counties without reimbursement. Project Access® is not health insurance; it is however a way to help our community members stabilize their health so that health insurance is more attainable.
"Project Access® fills an urgent need in our community allowing us to coordinate preventive and wellness care that keeps patients’ overall health at a higher level. As a result, our volunteer physicians limit the episodes of crisis care such as hospitalization or emergency care, which is always more expensive and less desirable for patients."
Bill Hathaway, MD
To donate to Project Access®, click here.
Thank You Letters from Project Access® Patients:
E.L. Letter
Thank You Project Access® Volunteers!
Project Access® exists thanks to the donations of local physicians, hospitals, and other providers. Every year we place an ad in the Asheville Citizen-Times to thank our volunteers. This ad typically runs in the summer and thanks providers for care in the previous year. Check out the volunteer lists from the past few years:
For more information, see our sections for Providers or Patients