The founders of a free clinic that will open next month in Botetourt County say despite the county's visible signs of wealth, there are many residents whose jobs don't provide health insurance or who simply can't afford it.

Starting Jan. 16, the Christian Free Clinic in Botetourt will open on Tuesday evenings in a Sunday school room at Fincastle Baptist Church on U.S. 220 near Daleville. It's not far from upscale subdivisions such as Ashley Plantation.

"I've talked to so many doctors in Botetourt who have said their patients come to them with problems that could have been treated at an earlier stage much easier, but they've waited too long because they didn't feel like they had any access to health care," said Dr. Susanne Voekler, who practices adult internal medicine at the Bonsack Medical Center off U.S. 460 in Roanoke County.

Walk-in patient registration will be from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. The clinic will stay open until all patients are seen.

Voekler and a band of medical personnel, volunteers and church members have spent nearly two years researching the county's need for health care.

Though county residents have access to free health care services through the Bradley Free Clinic in Roanoke, Voekler said it's too far for many people to drive, and others don't feel at home seeking health care outside their communities.

The Rev. Kevin Cummings, Fincastle Baptist's pastor, said he was skeptical at first that there was a need for such a clinic.

He was surprised to learn from Voekler and other doctors about the state of health care coverage in the county.

"I was shocked at the number of people that are employed who do not have health insurance," he said.

According to 2005 statistics from the Virginia Center for Healthy Communities, an independent, nonprofit organization, 13 percent of residents in Botetourt County, or nearly 4,100 people, didn't have health insurance in 2005. That percentage is a little higher than the number of uninsured in Roanoke County, but lower than in Roanoke.

Dr. Bob Allen, a semiretired neonatal care physician who spent much of his career at Carilion Roanoke Community Hospital, helped create the nonprofit clinic with Voekler and is a member of its board of directors.

"The new Botetourt County, the Ashley Plantation Botetourt County, is what so many people see in the news and think about," he said. "But there's still lots of folks in Botetourt County that are hourly workers, that might be construction workers, farmers, self-employed people that have seasonal work or weather-related work that find it difficult to have health care coverage."

The clinic will provide basic medical care and Christian-based counseling to adults who have jobs but no insurance, as well as to those who are between jobs or out of work, including the homeless, Voekler said.

"I have a feeling we are going to be overwhelmed in the beginning," said Kandace Raymond, who is working part time as the clinic's executive director and is the only paid employee.

Training sessions for volunteers will be Jan. 6 and 9.

Doctors, nurses and other volunteers will donate their time to work at the clinic. While some medications such as antibiotics will be dispensed at the clinic, no medicines or medical supplies other than a few exam tables will be stored at the church.

"We're not going to have anything on site that people will want to steal," Allen said.

Radiology and lab work services are being donated by Lewis-Gale Medical Center, Raymond said.

The Bradley Free Clinic in Roanoke has agreed to take referrals of some patients with more serious needs than the clinic can handle, Raymond said.

The Botetourt clinic will operate initially on about $30,000 in donations from individuals, businesses and support from other area health agencies, Allen said. Raymond is also applying for a range of grants from agencies such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Virginia Healthcare Foundation and Wachovia Foundation.

When the clinic opens its doors, she'll seek funding from the Virginia Association of Free Clinics, a statewide organization that works with 49 other free clinics.

To contact the Christian Free Clinic in Botetourt, call 353-7175.