This article was posted by Paul Thomas at wkyc.com on 7/27/2009.
UNIVERSITY CIRCLE — It was a busy, but satisfying weekend for hundreds of doctors, nurses and health care professionals who volunteered to give free exams and treatment to the uninsured.
More than 1,600 patient vision, dental and medical appointments were logged during the 2-day MedWorks event at the W.O. Walker building in University Heights and the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine.
“The thing I (heard) all the time from the docs is, ‘This is why we went to medical school’,” said MedWorks organizer and Cleveland Heights businessman Zac Ponsky. “It could not have been better. We got through all the patients that showed up on both days.”
Ponsky said the idea of the free medical care event included follow-up appointments.
Dr. Tommaso Falcone, the chairman of the Department of Obstetrics-Gynecology at the Cleveland Clinic, said he will follow up and volunteer his services again for some of the patients he examined over the weekend.
“The people who have organized this have put great thought into it,” Falcone said. “When I’ve seen a patient that probably has a kidney stone for example, or (a patient) that has an abnormality in her pap test or something, we’re going to follow through. We’re not just let this (patient) go away.”
Betty Cruz, of Cleveland, was a walk-in patient on Sunday. Cruz, who said that she lost her job and health insurance three months ago, brought her three-year-old granddaughter with her to the free medical care event.
“I keep telling her grandma can’t see,” Cruz said. “So I go to see the doctors (Sunday). They’re going to fix up grandma.”
After eye exams, Cruz learned that she needed reading glasses, something she said she can’t afford.
But Cruz was in for a surprise. “We have your lenses, in stock today, so we can make them for you” said a MedWorks volunteer. “You just need…to pick out your frames.”
Cruz broke down in tears. “That’s a blessing for me. You don’t expect it, but it’s out there.”
“Given the success,” Ponsky said, “I would say there’s a good probablity that you’re going to see more of these.”
© 2009 WKYC-TV
Congrats to all those who volunteered and helped these people out. No matter what race , religion , color, or creed no ONE deserves to be in pain and or die cause of a lack of medical care . Hats off to everyone who attended. This was a great idea and great follow through. Maybe the next one will be on the west side somewhere and then one on the south side as well.
What struck me also about this story is the quote about many medical professionals saying, “This is why we went to medical school.” It is clear they were energized by simply delivering the patient care they were trained to do, without being encumbered by insurance restrictions, paperwork or bureaucracy. It was really a win-win for all of us, as I think many doctors who participated will have a refreshing, new approach to their profession.
To all of the patients that were served this past weekend…. Thank you all for being so pleasant and kind. It was a true pleasure to serve you. It was an unexpected treat for us volunteers, that we made some great friendships with many of you. We are now working hard to help place many of you with follow up care connections. Please take care of yourselves and we hope to see you again soon at our next clinic.