WINTER GARDEN, Fla. — The cost of medical care can be pricey, and those who need it most often find the coverage they need is out of reach.

A nonprofit in Central Florida, Shepherd’s Hope, has been providing free health care to people in need for around 20 years.

What You Need To Know

  • Shepherd's Hope, a nonprofit in Central Florida, provides free medical care to people who need the care the most

  • The organization has been in operation for around 20 years and is still going strong to provide health care resources at four locations throughout Central Florida

  • Medical personnel at Shepherd’s Hope are licensed and volunteer their time while, in most cases, working full time jobs at other medical facilities

Shepherd’s Hope has been making cost-free care available for decades thanks to specially trained and certified volunteers like Andrew Danschisko, who has been donating his services for nearly a decade.

A physician assistant, Danschisko says he enjoys helping and giving hope to those in Central Florida who need of medical care but can’t afford it.

Danschisko is no stranger to Shepherd's Hope — he's among friends who, over the years, have become family.

“Everybody here has been kind of a family to me kind of made me stick around for all those nine years, so here I am,” Danschisko said.

He has been volunteering while making his way through school, and says it’s all about providing consistent medical care.

“I realize the continuity of care is a big issue," he said, adding that being a regular volunteer allows him to "see some of the same patients come back."

Suzanne Chaar is a volunteer CNA who is working her way through medical school works closely with Danschisko and says he volunteers from the heart.

“He loves to give back to the community," she said. "It’s really rare to see someone from the volunteering, volunteers in general, go to (physician assistant) school, go to graduate school, graduate, then come back right away volunteering."

“Shepherd’s Hope wouldn’t run without these volunteers, and they are really the backbone of our community,” said Shepherd's Hope health information management coordinator Myles Henderson.

Shepherd's Hope has four locations throughout Central Florida where the nonprofit provides an array of medical services to people in the community. The free care they offer is all made possible by generous volunteers like Danschisko.

“Every single day, we rely on volunteers," Henderson said. "Whether it's front desk, whether it's discharged, whether it’s the interpreters who are in the room with the scribes and physicians ourselves."

For Danschisko, it’s all about providing quality care and helping those who need it the most.

“You want to be able to rest your head on a pillow and say, 'I did my best today,'” Danschisko said.