History
The Oasis Health Network Inc was started in 1992 by Peter F. McGuire, MD as the Oasis Healthcare for the Homeless Program. This was a division of the Brunswick, Maine homeless shelter, The Tedford-Oasis Shelter for the homeless. Originally designed to provide medical care for the residents of the shelter, demand quickly grew from previously homeless clients, to provide them with medical care they could not access through private medical practices due to low income and lack of health insurance. With ever increasing demand, Oasis Healthcare for the Homeless split off from the shelter in 1995 and set-up its own not-for-profit 501(C) 3 corporation. Keeping the Oasis name, it has retained its deep connections to providing medical care for the homeless at the Tedford Shelter. It now also provides free medical, dental, social service and prescription assistance to many area residents. To be eligible for services these residents must be adults over age 18, have an income at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Level and have no health insurance. Active patients number 960 in 2007. Volunteers number 170. On a budget (2006) of $100,000, over $800,000 in free medical care is provided to clinic patients.