CHARLOTTE COUNTY - The St. Vincent de Paul Community Health Clinic got a much needed financial boost, Wednesday. The Blue Foundation, a philanthropic outlet of Florida's Blue Cross Blue Shield awarded the free clinic and pharmacy with a $100 thousand-dollar grant.

The money will go to medications and a full-time physicians' assistant. But, even with the generous gift, clinic directors say they'll need more money to keep up with the rising need of health care.

"The need is growing and Charlotte County has the second highest unemployment rate in the state," says the clinic's director Jim Sidbury.

Since opening it's doors in February, the clinic has seen more than a thousand patients. That number is climbing by 10% each month.

Retirees are feeling the pinch, too. They're already on a fixed budget and some companies, like General Motors are dropping former employees from their healthcare plan.

"We expect that there will be an increase in the number of patients who will come around to clinics like this one around the state," says The Blue Foundation's Susan Wildes.

The clinic costs at least $33-thousand dollars a month to run, plus the work of 18 doctors and 100 volunteers. That's why grant money like this is so crucial to the clinic's success.

"The operating cost of running a clinic and providing the supplies and everything that's necessary is expensive, says Sidbury. "we continually need help."

The free clinic is open five days a week from 5pm to 9pm.