Cleveland, OH
Free clinic appreciation month
CLEVELAND — There are more than half a million people in Ohio who do not have health insurance.
Ohio has 59 free and charitable clinics and pharmacies that provide essential care for the uninsured. They’re supported by the Charitable Healthcare Network, and this month, CHN is celebrating the care they provide to patients in 86 of the state’s 88 counties.
Salaam Clinic is one of several clinics in Cleveland. They see hundreds of patients a year. Shafeeq Sabir is one of those patients.
“The opportunity is there for me to see a doctor, a physician, without having to worry about a cost factor,” said Sabir.
Sabir has insurance but said he has a copay, and he’s on a fixed income. Salaam Clinic takes in uninsured, underinsured and those who cannot afford care.
“Sometimes I can’t afford the copay, so I would prefer to come here for an exam before I go and see my primary physician,” said Sabir.
Salaam Clinic is part of the Charitable Healthcare Network. The network is celebrating Free Clinic Appreciation Month this December.
The network is Ohio’s statewide system that supports free and charitable clinics. Jason Koma is CHN’s Executive Director. He said the network’s 59 clinics provide high-quality health care to those who need it.
“We are the backbone of the safety net of health care in the state of Ohio,” said Koma.
More than 60,000 patients were seen at one of the network’s facilities from Jan. to Sept. 2025. In 2024, the clinics saw nearly 80,000 patients.
The network’s clinics offer a wide range of services including primary care, specialty, dental, vision, behavioral health, social services, pharmacy, education, prescriptions, tests and insurance enrollment. In 2024, CHN’s clinics provided $224 million worth of services to patients all over the state. The network is supported by funds from the Ohio Department of Health and the state budget.
The Ohio Department of Health said this in a statement.
“Free clinics are an integral part of the healthcare system in Ohio, which is why the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) financially supports healthcare services to patients who lack the funds or insurance coverage to pay for vital health services.
ODH support comes through the Uninsured Care Fund, a general revenue fund line item used to support free and charitable clinics providing medical and dental care at free or reduced costs to uninsured and underinsured Ohioans. These funds pay for primary healthcare services to any uninsured person who gets healthcare services at a free clinic in Ohio.”
Every fiscal year, CHN gets $1.75 million to support the individual clinics around the state.
Salaam Clinic receives funding from several sources, including CHN. Dr. Syed Shoaib Shah is the CEO of the Salaam Clinic.
“Year over year it takes about $230,000 to run the clinic,” said Shah. “We have a part time nurse practitioner on staff as well as an administrative assistant and then includes all the supplies, all that lets us run all the mobile clinics, all the pop-up clinics that we do around the city.”
However, the clinic doesn’t always get the full amount, and the clinic is looking at other options, including private donations.
“Without the Charitable Healthcare Network in our clinics, these folks would have nowhere else to go,” said Koma. “Probably ending up in the emergency room and getting sicker and sicker and sicker.”
According to UnitedHealthcare, the average emergency room visit costs $1700, but the cost depends on the services and care provided. Shah said clinics can be the first stop to getting healthy.
“We make sure every patient leaves with a roadmap and they know where they’re going, what they’re doing, and they have the referrals and check,” said Shah.
Shah said clinics like his are saving lives. He said that even though they are seeing more patients and expect to see even more patients; he wants the community to know the clinic is here for them.
“Hospitals are closing their outpatient centers because they can’t afford the care that they’re giving to the uninsured population,” said Shah.
In 2024, Salaam Clinic saw around 700 patients. This year, the number doubled to nearly 1400 patients seen. With rising healthcare costs, Shah said the number will continue to rise, but they are happy to serve the community.
“We expect to see more patients that are underinsured and uninsured, but they cannot afford care,” said Shah.
Sabir said he’s grateful for Salaam Clinic and he tells everyone he knows about the clinic.
“An opportunity of this service and that really has just gives me a better feeling consciously in my thinking and in my health, and I just feel much, much better about my life,” said Sabir.
To become a patient of Salaam Clinic, first call them at (216) 243-7924. From there, the staff will recommend next steps and provide resources. If you would like to visit the clinic, appointments are preferred, but walk-ins are welcome.
Saleem Clinic in Midtown, at 7401 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44103, is open on Sundays from 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. Their Solon location at Chagrin Valley Islamic Center at 6909 Liberty Rd. is open every last Friday of the month, 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. They also do pop-up and mobile clinics.
Salaam Clinic has a multilingual staff who speak French, Arabic, Swahili, South Asian languages, Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi.
Salaam Clinic, along with the other clinics in the network, are nonprofit clinics with paid and volunteer employees.
The clinics accept monetary donations, and for every dollar donated to the Charitable Healthcare Network, it provides $13 worth of healthcare.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Make that a trio of commitment in the Class of 2027 this week for the Louisville football program.
Cleveland (Oh.) Brush defensive end Munir Lewis announced Wednesday that he has committed to the Cardinals. He’s the third commit in the last four days for UofL, Bradenton (Fla.) Cardinal Mooney defensive lineman Kaleb Exume committing on Sunday and Tampa (Fla.) Carrollwood Day two-way athlete Brooklyn Maxey doing so on Monday.
Lewis chose Louisville out of a top seven that also consisted of Ohio State, Michigan State, Illinois, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech and Purdue. He also held offers from Cincinnati, Minnesota, Wisconsin plus several others, and made multiple visits to UofL’s campus – including this past Friday for the spring game. He’s set to return for an official visit this May.
The 6-foot-5, 245-pound defensive end is regarded as the 23rd-ranked prospect in the state of Ohio, the No. 50 edge rusher in the Class of 2027, and the No. 592 recruit in the nation, per the 247Sports Composite.
Lewis was an explosive force for Brush as a junior this past season. He collected 55 total tackles, 13.5 for loss, nine sacks, four pass breakup, a forced fumbles and over 20 quarterback pressures. He helped Brush finish the 2025 season with a 6-4 record.
Lewis is the 12th commitment in Louisville’s 2027 recruiting class, which is on pace to be the best in school history. he joins a class that not only ranks as the best class in the ACC, but the No. 8 class in the nation, per the 247Sports Composite. Four of their commitments are regarded as four-star prospects by the composite.
He’s also the latest in a budding pipeline to the state of Ohio, which has been championed by Executive Director of Football Personnel and Recruiting Vince Marrow. Five of Louisville’s 12 commitments in the 2027 cycle are from the Buckeye State, with three hailing from the Cincinnati area and the other two coming from Cleveland.
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American Cornhole League Cleveland Signature Open | April 24, 2026 | Greater Cleveland Sports Commission
American Cornhole League is bringing the heat to the boards in Cleveland with $150,000 on the line. Join us on April 24-26, 2026, for elite competition where amateurs and pros collide. Whether you’re a backyard ringer or a seasoned veteran, this is your chance to…
Garion Thorne gives you a preview, prediction and pick for tonight’s game between the Houston Astros and the Cleveland Guardians.
Few teams needed a win last night more than the Astros.
Houston came into Monday’s action having lost 12 of its past 14 games, while also having lost nearly as many pitchers — at least it feels that way. Just take a quick glance at this club’s IL. Hunter Brown (shoulder), Tatsuya Imai (fatigue), Cristian Javier (shoulder). Those aren’t losses that are easy to survive, and the Astros have understandably been struggling. However, after a dominating 9-2 victory, Houston can at least take a small breath.
Can the Astros make it two in a row this evening? Or will the Guardians bounce back? Let’s preview this AL clash and make a couple picks on the DraftKings Sportsbook.
Astros vs. Guardians prediction, preview
So, remember that list of injured Astros pitchers I just recited? The consequence of the length of that list, is that you have to start people like Ryan Weiss. That’s not to suggest that Weiss is completely without promise — he was a stud in the KBO in 2024 and 2025 — it’s just that the right-hander’s MLB career has gotten off to a slightly rocky start, and it’s clear that Houston currently prefers the 29-year-old as a reliever. In 14.2 innings of work, Weiss has racked up 18 strikeouts, but he’s also surrendered four home runs, 11 earned runs, and a sixth percentile opponent hard hit rate (54.5%). Weiss isn’t quite built up to be a starter, either. Well, at least not fully, as he threw a season-high 76 pitches in his last outing. That means we’re probably going to have to see a lot of the Astros’ bullpen on Tuesday, which is not a good thing. Houston’s RPs rank 29th in ERA (5.66) and they’ve served up a league-high 1.89 opponent home runs per nine. Yikes.
On the other side of this pitching matchup, we find another starter with little major league experience. That said, Parker Messick already looks like another developmental success story of the Guardians’ pitcher factory. The former second-round pick debuted in 2025, maintaining a 2.72 ERA and a 2.98 FIP across seven starts. If possible, Messick’s looked even better so far in 2026, allowing a mere three earned runs over 25.2 innings. Now, a .200 BABIP isn’t going to sustain. Neither is a 91.4% strand rate. However, when you’re limiting opponents to a 3.3% barrel rate and a 29.5% hard hit rate, you might just get a little “lucky” from time to time. It’s not like the southpaw has been skating by on a soft schedule, either. Messick has faced the Dodgers, the Braves, the Cubs and the Orioles. There isn’t a single cakewalk in there.
That pattern of difficult matchups will continue on Tuesday, as well. For as underwhelming as the Astros’ record is, it’s mostly a byproduct of poor pitching. The offense has actually been one of the best in all of baseball. Houston actually leads all American League teams in wOBA (.350) and wRC+ (124), with Yordan Alvarez leading the charge. He’s been fantastic in left-on-left scenarios, too. In his 36 plate appearances within the split, Alvarez is slashing .448/.528/1.034 with a 315 wRC+. I don’t want to discount Jose Ramirez, who has six homers and 10 stolen bases for the Guardians, yet a healthy Alvarez is easily the best bat in this series. He’s that good.
Astros vs. Guardians pick, best bet
Best Bet: Jose Ramirez 2+ Total Bases (+107)
Weiss has a 6.27 FIP. The Astros’ bullpen has given up the most opponent home runs per nine (1.89). Ramirez probably won’t be in a single bad matchup this evening, and that’s before you factor in that the All-Star is a switch-hitter.
Strong Lean: Ryan Weiss 4+ Strikeouts (+123)
While Weiss’ surface numbers aren’t great, he has managed four strikeouts in two of his three outings where he’s thrown 60+ pitches. He’s struck out 18 in 14.2 innings and I expect he’ll flirt with the 90-pitch plateau on Tuesday.
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