Health care center will cater to uninsured in Bloomington

As a practicing physician in Bloomington for the last 12 years, Eric Bannec has seen what can happen to people who go without medical insurance. \n"When individuals have to choose between going to the doctor or putting food on the table, often their own health care loses," Bannec said. "High blood pressure or diabetes can go untreated, and then the next thing you know they are in the emergency room presenting with chest pain." \nFortunately for the estimated 21,000 uninsured Monroe and Owen county residents, a new, no-cost health care clinic is slated to open in Bloomington in July 2007. The Volunteers in Medicine clinic will provide treatment for both acute and chronic problems, as well as educational programming about healthy living, said Rajih Haddawi, chairman of the Volunteers in Medicine of Monroe county. \nThe clinic will serve residents of Monroe and Owen counties who are without any form of health insurance and whose income falls at or double the amount of the federal poverty line. This year, patients making less than $19,600 for a single adult and $40,000 for a family of four annually will qualify. \nThe Volunteers in Medicine clinic will replace the Community Health Access Program, a low-cost clinic run by Bloomington Hospital. The new clinic will have more than four times the capacity of the Community Health Access Program clinic, according to a press release.\n"The (community clinic) has reached a level of saturation and could not expand," Hadawwi said. \nBloomington Hospital donated the facilities and three paid employees to the new Volunteers in Medicine clinic, said Bannec, the clinic's volunteer medical director. \n"(The community clinic) will roll over into the new clinic," Bannec said. "Almost all the patients of (Community Health Access Program) will move into the (Volunteers in Medicine) clinic." \nMonroe County's Volunteers in Medicine clinic was formed along the same guidelines as the 50 other Volunteers in Medicine clinics that have opened around the country since 1993, according to a media release. Volunteer doctors, nurse-practitioners and nurses will work a four-hour shift once a month. \nEveryone Haddawi talked to has been enthusiastic about the idea, Hadawwi said. So far, 48 doctors and 16 nurse-practitioners have committed to volunteering. \n"I haven't been turned down yet," he said. \nSpecialists and dentists who volunteer to help out will probably see patients in their offices, Bannac said. If a patient comes in needing a referral to a specialist, he or she will be sent to one of the volunteer doctors on a rotating basis. \n"When you talk to the working poor, one of the biggest gripes is that they have a toothache," Bannac said. "So far we have approximately five to 10 dentists interested, so we will be able to refer people to their offices on a rotation schedule." \nHaddawi said it would cost $9 million a year to run the health care clinic if it were not for physicians and nurses donating their time and expertise, free medications from the drug companies and Bloomington Hospital's donation of the clinic's premises. Between these donations, which cover 93 percent of the clinic budget, and grants, the clinic needs only about $400,000 to run yearly. \n"The new clinic will be owned by the community," Haddawi said. "That's where our finances and our volunteers -- lay or medical -- will come from."\nMuch of the preliminary funding came from the $600,000 donated by Cook Group Inc., a medical device manufacturer based in Bloomington, Bannec said. \nThough community response to the new clinic so far has been impressive, Bannac stressed the need for even more volunteers, whether medical professionals or laypersons. \n"We need lots of lay volunteers to check people into the clinic and to make phone calls," Bannac said. "And a big part of the clinic is the medication. You have to fill out a lot of complicated paperwork for indigent programs at pharmaceutical companies to get free \nmedications." \nFor acute symptoms, the clinic will have a pharmacy on hand to provide medication, Hadawwi said. For symptoms requiring prolonged medication, such as depression or diabetes, patients must complete a paperwork process to receive treatments free of charge. \nEducation will be a huge part of the clinic, Haddawi said. Volunteers will host classes about managing diabetes, as well as other aspects of wellness. The clinic will also continue smoking cessation classes previously offered through Bloomington Hospital and the community clinic, he said. \n"There is going to be a very big emphasis on education and class attendance," Haddawi said. "People have to take responsibility for changing their lifestyles and taking care of themselves."\nHaddawi practiced medicine in Bloomington for 33 years before retiring last year, he said. In that time, he saw the need for such a clinic first-hand, he said. In January 2005 he met with others to discuss starting a branch of the Volunteers in Medicine clinics. The clinic will open this July, only about 19 months after the initial planning started. \nIn its first year alone, the clinic is expected to treat about 14,000 people. Haddawi is still making plans for the future. \n"We expect we'll have a central location in town (in 10 years) and that the clinic will be large enough to accommodate the 20,000 people that will come through for visits," he said. "We'll have dental care in-house, and expand on the volunteer education programs"