The Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine is offering free clinical health services to Athens residents who are uninsured, in addition to a free breast health program it has had for the past four years.
A free clinical program will be available to uninsured Athens County residents, and with the help of a $69,000 grant from the Columbus affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, OU-COM has a program for breast health, part of the Healthy Adult Program, which it has offered for the past four years.
In Athens County, 5.5 percent of children and 16.9 percent of adults are uninsured, said Kathy Trace, director of clinical community service programs at OU-COM.
Funding for the free clinic program, which began May 12, comes from both the Sisters of St. Joseph Charitable Fund and OU-COM along with other grants, said Trace, who heads the program. Trace said she did not know how much the free clinics would cost because the program is being run on a trial basis.
She said the program fits with OU-COM's goals to be a safety net for residents unable to afford health services and to establish primary medical care to the uninsured.
There are services out there that people are not aware of and there are people out there willing to help. Sometimes it is a matter of helping people find those resources
she said.
Some people in Athens County are without health insurance because jobs such as part-time work do not provide benefits, the benefits are too expensive or individuals are unemployed. According to the 2000 Census, out of the 29,716 people who were in the labor force in Athens County, there were 3,287 people unemployed. While Athens County employment rates are traditionally similar to the state's, its poverty rates are consistently higher. In 2000, 27.4 percent of the Athens County population lived below the poverty rate, compared to 10.6 percent of people in Ohio.
This will be a good way to give access to free clinical health services for low-income adults that have no form of health insurance said Melanie Moynan-Smith, a nurse practitioner for the Healthy Adult Project at OU-COM.
Sister Jane Harrington of the Sisters of St. Joseph Charitable Fund said she believes it is an efficient program for the uninsured to get into the health system.
...This is the first time they are holding free clinics and they want to help get people into the health system so they can go somewhere for care Harrington said.
The goal is to provide free care for at least 500 patients living below the poverty line and help them to get regular medical care, Trace said. A family of one with an income of $9,570 or less, and a family of two with an income of $12,830 or less are considered below the poverty line, a measurement that factors in rent and food costs.
Trace said the program is trying to set up volunteer networks to help with services like transportation.
If there are people who call and don't have a way to get there (to the mobile unit)
then we will try to provide a way to come and get them
Trace said. Services are offered to uninsured Athens County residents who are 18 to 64 years old. The free clinics are from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Thursdays in the Mobile Health Unit, located at the Community Center in Stewart.
OU-COM also is sponsoring a separate program to provide breast health to women ages 40 and over, which includes breast health education, examinations and mammograms. The Komen grant has helped OU-COM's program establish a mobile unit that spreads to 10 counties -including Vinton, Hocking, Jackson and Meigs -to provide services, Trace said.
The beauty of this program is that it helps those women that don't have insurance. We have been able to diagnose breast cancer early
Trace said. They (The Komen Foundation) have been a wonderful program to work with.
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