Taking steps for uninsured

Early Saturday morning, volunteers, patients, employees, along with students and some of their dogs, gathered on the front lawn of the Volunteers in Medicine clinic to begin the first 3K Walk for the Uninsured.

Since opening in April 2007, VIM’s patient population has grown from 781 to more than 2,000 uninsured residents of Monroe and Owen counties. The program continues to grow, VIM Executive Director Elizabeth Sturgeon said.

There are about 12,000 uninsured residents of the two counties who are eligible to receive care, Sturgeon said.

One of the purposes for the walk was to spread awareness about VIM because many uninsured residents of Monroe and Owen counties don’t know it exists, event planner and IU senior Rob Sircar said.

“It also helps to bring light to the fact that there are so many uninsured people,” Sircar said, “not only in Monroe and Owen County but across the nation as well.”

The event was free; however, donations were accepted.

Sturgeon said they weren’t trying to raise money through the walk.

“We really want to encourage people to get out and walk,” she said. “It’s really important for us to set an example for our patients to start healthy habits.”

For Vickie Bledsoe, a self-employed massage therapist and VIM patient, the walk was a way for her to spread awareness about the clinic to other uninsured residents.

After suffering a stroke, Bledsoe continued to have trouble with her speech and stiffness in her right arm until she found out about the VIM clinic, where she was able to receive treatment. She said she had been living without insurance for 12 years.

“I thought, ‘Now I don’t have to feel like a second-class citizen anymore,’” she said.
In total, forty-six people walked for the uninsured, and volunteers are hopeful that the event will only grow larger in the future.

“It’s been a great experience,” event planner and IU junior Brian Rans said. “We’re really excited about how this event turned out and the potential it has in the future because I think this can have a big impact on the community.”