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Listen: How A ‘Hippie Clinic’ In San Francisco Inspired A Medical Philosophy

From Its Counterculture Roots, Haight Ashbury Free Clinic Morphs Into Health Care Conglomerate

Fifty-one years ago in San Francisco, a small community clinic opened its doors. Its mission: to treat many of the young people who flocked to the city — who were often homeless, hungry and sick. The Haight Ashbury Free Clinic, now part of a larger network, still operates out of a second-floor office overlooking Haight Street in San Francisco, and it still helps people on the fringes of society.

Carrie Feibel of San Francisco’s KQED filed this radio story for NPR and KHN on the history of the clinic.

This story is part of a partnership that includes KQED, NPR and Kaiser Health News.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

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