Platform : ‘I’m Here to Take Care of the Children’

No matter what happens to Medicaid funding in Congress this year, there remain millions of employed, uninsured people who can’t pay for conventional medical care and aren’t eligible for government assistance. The few bright spots in that picture include medical professionals who give their time and skills at free and low-cost clinics.

EARL RUBELL

Retired pediatrician, volunteers physician services at the Venice Family Clinic, Venice

I retired in 1979 and sailed a small sail boat around the world for eight years. Then I began to wonder what I was going to do with the rest of my life.

I met up with a colleague at a pediatric conference, he asked me how I was enjoying my retirement. I told him that I was going crazy, I felt miserable and didn’t know what I was going to do with myself. He invited me to the Venice Family Clinic where he volunteered on Saturdays. My volunteer position at the VFC began five years ago. I see 40-50 patients weekly. Most of the patients [parents] I see speak Spanish and I have learned to speak “pediatrician Spanish.” --I learn from the patients, this is my Spanish classroom.

I was worried about the effects of Prop. 187 before it passed. The day it passed the clinic posted notices saying that the clinic continues to see patients as they always had without asking any questions about who they were.

All the patients have to do is meet our criteria: reside in a certain geographic area and be below a certain income level. We’ve had no problems and I don’t sense any anxiety with our patients--they feel safe here and they trust us. My attitude is that I’m here to take care of the children.

CHRISTOPHER SABATINO

Chiropractor, $10 Chiropractic Adjustments, West Hollywood

*

Money is not the primary concern of the doctor. I offer no-frills chiropractic care, this is a one man show, I even answer the phones. I keep my overhead costs low and pass the savings on to my patients.

I do not accept insurance, so there are no forms to fill out or worries about meeting deductibles. Insurance companies place limitations on chiropractic visits and usually the co-payment is more than my fee.

My job is as a doctor is to treat patients, I don’t ask patients if they are here legally. I accept the fact that the patient has a need to be met and I provide a quality service at the lowest possible fee. This is my way of giving to the community.

RANDALL SCHOEMAN

Dentist, volunteer at the American Indian Clinic in Bellflower and Claremore Indian Hospital in Oklahoma

*

A lot is expected from those who have been given a lot. If you have the ability or talent to do a certain thing, then I feel a responsibility to give back to those who need you. It’s the Indian way. I am a member of the Citizen Band Potawatomi Tribe.

My urban volunteer commitment is on Saturdays at the American Indian Clinic in Bellflower. I treat both Native Americans and non-Native Americans at the clinic. I spend my vacation time on my rural volunteer commitment, which is in Oklahoma at the Claremore Indian Hospital on the Cherokee Strip. For 10 days I remove wisdom teeth, take biopsies and do reconstructive surgeries.

Rural Indian health centers need Native Americans to run the clinics because they understand the ways and the culture of their people.

I wrote this poem:

Wise is the Indian who cherishes his cultural beliefs.

Wise is he who strives after the best in the Anglo Saxon culture.

But wiser yet is he who is skillful enough to do both.

CLAUDIA RAMIREZ

Nurse, starting an outreach clinic to shelters at the Venice Family Clinic

*

I volunteer at the VFC one night a week and it gets busy. We see everything here, it’s like a mini ER. I give immunizations, teach patient education, do assessments and prepare and comfort the patients before they see the doctor.

There is so much to learn at VFC, not only do you give people your time--you get so much back from patients. They are grateful that someone cares about them and that is rewarding in itself.