Posted on WKYC.com 7/24/2009
CLEVELAND — While Congress and the President battle over healthcare reform, medical volunteers in Cleveland are taking action.
A year ago, Zac Ponsky came up with an idea to have a huge collaboration that would bring free medical care to those who need it most, the uninsured and underinsured.
Zac is not a doctor but he comes from a family of them. His father, Dr. Jeff Ponsky, is Chief of Surgery at University Hospitals.
He sees the pros and cons of America’s healthcare system every day, but this weekend he won’t have to worry about insurance coverage or billing.
“Medworks is a bridge to nationalized healthcare, it’s a way of making sure our most needy get seen,” Dr. Ponsky says.
Medworks will take place in two locations.
The W.O. Walker building is between University Hospitals and Cleveland Clinic and co-owned by both. The empty rooms on the fifth floor will be filled with medical patients.
The gymnasium will turn into a vision clinic and down the street the chairs at the Case Western Reserve University Dental School will be full. That’s where you’ll find Dr. Scott Alperin.
“I’ll be removing bad teeth, infected teeth, decayed teeth, teeth that can’t be saved and working as hard as I can,” Dr. Alperin said. He has volunteered his time before, but not with a collaboration like this one.
“Whether you work for one hospital chain or a competing hospital, medical practices, dental practices what have you they’re all coming together with one common goal, to help the people that need it.”
This is the first Medworks attempt and hopefully not the last. “We’re very hopeful that this will become a regular part of our community we’ll get better at it and we’ll be a leader for the country,” Dr. Ponsky says.
While nearly the entire medical community jumped on board to help keeping it going will require more than volunteers. “This is not a limitless pit it does involve resources and money and we have to be careful not to abuse that system,” Ponsky adds.
Already overloaded, The Free Clinic of Cleveland, Care Alliance and MetroHealth can’t carry the burden alone.
Ponsky says, “We don’t have to wait for national healthcare we can do something today it may not be perfect, and I know it won’t be but it’s a first step.”
© 2009 WKYC-TV
it is wonderful for people who can not afford a doctor, have no or limited healoth insurance, and especially for the kids . This is a start and i do not dee the need to make this a political thing. Hope people are well served and this is the first of many of them as well. Good going medworks !