It’s Friday afternoon. I’m sitting in my office at Good Samaritan Clinic, wondering what to write about.
Our medical records room is bursting at the seams with more than 8,300 patients’ charts. Each chart holds its very own story….
Should I tell the story of “Joe”? Joe came to the Clinic for the first time just last month, because he had recently lost his job and his health insurance. Joe couldn’t be without medical care for long. He’s had diabetes since he was a young child. Early one morning several weeks ago, Joe’s dad called to tell us that Joe had been in a motorcycle accident. The initial spill on his motorcycle wasn’t very serious, but he was run over by another vehicle before he could get out of the traffic.
Joe finally came home from the hospital yesterday. His diabetes is slowing down the healing process. He’s coming to the Clinic next week for follow-up care. Our doctors are also working to get wound care for Joe. Until Joe is healed, he can’t look for another job. Unfortunately, the pharmaceutical companies won’t supply his insulin, either, because Joe’s income from 2008 is too high. We paid for the original prescription when he first came to the Clinic. However, we normally do not continue to buy medications if the pharmaceutical companies won’t provide it through their programs. The type of insulin Joe needs is very expensive. Joe’s family cannot afford to pay for the insulin over the long term. Our Medication Assistance advocates will try to persuade the drug company to provide it to Joe at no cost. I hope they are successful.
Or maybe another patient’s story would be better…. One of the AHEC providers called us about “Barbara” a few days ago. Barbara was treated at the Fort Smith AHEC clinic, but she doesn’t have health insurance. The doctors discovered she has a large mass in her pelvic area. It may be cancerous, based on the patient’s medical history. We expedited everything so that Barbara could have an appointment this afternoon with our volunteer gynecologist. If Barbara needs expensive diagnostic testing or surgery, the Clinic’s staff will once again do their best to find a facility and surgeon who will give the care she needs. Hopefully it won’t be too late.
Joe and Barbara are just two of the Clinic’s patients…. There are thousands of others.
“DeeDee” is a homeless woman who originally came to us from the Community Rescue Mission. She left there a couple weeks ago after her 30 days were up. She came to the Clinic for an appointment last week. As of this morning, however, nobody at the local homeless agencies knows where she is. We hope that she is okay.
Yesterday a homeless 18-year-old came to the Clinic. He spent the past several years in foster care, but now that he’s 18, he is officially “out of the system”. I’m not sure we can locate him again, either.
Late this afternoon a married couple came to the Clinic. They brought the necessary paperwork and documentation to register to become patients. Both of them have recently lost their jobs — and their health insurance. However, at nearly $800 per week with only two people in the household, their unemployment income is more than the Clinic’s income limits. They can’t be patients at Good Samaritan Clinic. Caught in the gap, they can’t afford the standard fees at a typical medical facility. Yet they don’t qualify for our services. Will they go without care?
Nearly 200 different people came to the Clinic this week for appointments and medication. Others came to the Clinic to register as patients. Still others came to the Clinic, hoping to become patients — but didn’t qualify.
So many stories… So many lives…
