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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
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Contributf*<l
George Gamblin meets with Betty Mifflin of Community Health Works.
Houston volunteer medical clinic
plays vital role in heart transplant
Special to the Journal
For George Gamblin, the
Houston County Volunteer
Medical Clinic was a life
saver. Diagnosed with con
gestive heart failure at age
five, Gamblin has been tak
ing medications to maintain
his heart for the past 17
years. He even had a defi
brillator surgically implant
ed to shock his heart into
a normal rhythm when it
began to beat too fast, which
had become more and more
frequent over the last year.
Twenty-two years old, unin
sured and living with his
mother, Gamblin’s medi
cations were costing him
$1,200 to $1,500 out of pock
et each month, the majority
of which he could not afford.
He needed help.
“If the Volunteer Clinic had
not been here, I don’t know
how we would have paid for
George’s medications,” says
his mother, Angela Lefholz.
“I’m an educated person,
but I had no idea what pro
grams were available that
could help. Then someone
told me about the Volunteer
Clinic.”
Hundreds of working
Houston County residents
face this problem every day.
They are in need of primary
medical care and medica
tions for chronic conditions
such as diabetes, high blood
pressure and other ailments.
But the lack of health insur
ance makes it difficult for
these individuals to see a
primary care physician or
obtain the necessary pre
scription medications.
Founded in January 2005
with funding from the
Houston Medical Center
Auxiliary, Community
Health Works, and many indi
viduals and businesses, the
Houston County Volunteer
Medical Clinic is a non-profit
facility whose primary pur
pose is to provide free pri
mary, non-emergency, medi
cal care on an appointment
only basis to working, unin
sured citizens of Houston
County. Reduced or free
prescription medications are
also available through the
Community Health Works
Patient Assistance Program.
“The Volunteer Clinic is
for the working uninsured
adults who don’t have the
financial means to pur
chase health insurance, but
their incomes are over the
limit to qualify for Medicaid
assistance,” explains Vicky
Betrosoff, RN, Direct or of the
Houston County Volunteer
Medical Clinic. “Our clinic
is a primary care, family
practice facility that treats
chronic disease such as dia
betes, hypertension, cardio
vascular disease, high cho
lesterol problems, and mild
to medium depression.” The
doctors, nurses, technicians
and administrative person
nel all volunteer their time
to provide services two eve
nings per week, continues
Betrosoff.
According to Gamblin,
his visit to the Volunteer
Medical Clinic for help with
SiMe today! Cal 987-1823
Who qualifies?
The Houston County Volunteer Medical Clinic is
located at 125 Russell Parkway in Warner Robins. The
office is open for pick and return of applications Monday
through Friday from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Pre-qualified
patients are seen by appointment only during clinic
hours on Mondays and Thursdays from 5-8 p.m. For
more information or to make a donation, please call
478-923-9730.
To qualify for medical services through the Houston
County Volunteer Medical Clinic:
■ You must live in Houston County.
■ You must be 18 to 64 years of age.
■ You or your spouse must be employed.
■ You must have no health insurance.
■ Your family’s gross income must be 200 percent or
less of the poverty level.
■ You must provide proof of your family income.
■ You must provide identification.
■ You must provide your Social Security number.
(There are exceptions to this policy.)
his medications was just
the beginning. Dr. Kathy
Keebaugh, one of the driv
ing forces behind the clinic’s
establishment and one of
the volunteer physicians for
the clinic, agreed to become
his primary care physician,
referring him to Dr. Rahil
Kazi, cardiologist on the
medical staff of Houston
Medical Center. Despite
their efforts to maintain his
heart’s health, Gamblin suf
fered an almost fatal setback
in February 2006. While
driving to deliver pizza,
Gamblin says his heart went
into arrhythmia making his
defibrillator shock him more
than 15 times in a two-hour
period. His mother believes
it is a miracle he is alive
today. “The emergency room
doctor at Houston Medical
Center saved his life,” she
says. “Someone higher up
had a purpose for Georgie.”
After that near fatal epi
sode, Gamblin was referred
to Emory Healthcare’s Heart
Failure Therapy Center in
Atlanta where he was placed
on the heart transplant
waiting list. Miraculously, he
waited for only seven weeks
before receiving a new heart
on September 6, and was
at home recuperating one
week later. He is doing fine
now and credits the Houston
County Volunteer Medical
Clinic for saving his life.
“The Volunteer Clinic played
a huge role in the whole pro
cess,” he says. “It’s where
everything started. Without
them, I don’t know where I
would be today.”
Betrosoff believes out
comes like Gamblin’s
reinforce the need for the
Volunteer Clinic and make
the efforts of the volunteers
worthwhile.
“For individuals suffer
ing with chronic illnesses or
conditions, the lack of health
insurance can affect the
quality of their life as well
as its length,” she explains.
“That is so true for George.
If he had not come to the
Clinic when he did, he would
not have had access to the
quality and level of care he
needed to live.”
George’s mother agrees.
“This Volunteer Clinic is a
Godsend. It saved Georgie.”
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General Surgery
Daniel A. Deighton, MD
109 Osigian Boulevard, Suite 300
Warner Robins
478-953-5074
HEALTH
Should I go to the ER?
Special to the Journal
The Winter months
seem to bring more illness
than other times of the
year. When people experi
ence the flu or other flu
like symptoms such as
colds and coughs, one of
the most frequent questions
asked is, “Should I go to the
Emergency Room?”
“Patients with colds, flu
and flu-like symptoms along
with other medical prob
lems such as eye infections,
insect and animal bites,
rashes, back pain, minor
cuts and abrasions, minor
burns, minor abdominal
pain, diarrhea and vomiting
should consider, if possible,
visiting their family doctor
or one of our local Med-Stop
urgent care centers for treat
ment,” said Laurie Darsey,
RN, Clinical Coordinator at
Houston Medical Center’s
Emergency Department.
“By doing so, they are most
likely going to receive care
in a more timely manner
than in the Emergency
Department. Emergency
Departments are really for
true emergencies—those
critical injuries and illnesses
that need immediate atten
tion by a highly specialized
staff of medical profession
als. When we are treating
these critical patients, other
patients may have to wait
and that wait time can be
several hours, especially on
weekends and holidays dur
ing this busy time of year
when the flu season is upon
us.”
According to staff at
Houston Medical Center
and Perry Hospital, rea
sons to visit the Emergency
Department include the fol-
UROLOGY
lowing:
■ Chest Pain
■ Severe Abdominal Pain
■ Severe Cuts
■ Serious Injuries
■ Major Burns
■ Head Trauma
■ Pregnancy
Complications
■ Fever in children three
months and younger
■ Severe Allergic
Reactions
■ Open Fractures
■ Severe Nosebleeds
■ Respiratory Distress
■ Sexual Assault.
Emergency Departments
are designed to treat
patients in the order of the
severity of their illness or
injury, not in the order they
arrive.
Persons experiencing a
critical or life-threatening
illness or injury, such as
chest pain, respiratory dis
tress or head trauma, are
treated immediately upon
arrival. Those with less
serious ailments, such as
cold and flu symptoms or
sprains and strains, are
treated as soon as they can
be seen.
Darsey and her staff,
along with the Emergency
Department staff at Perry
Hospital, try to educate
patients not only about
when to use the Emergency
Department versus the doc
tor’s office and Med-Stop,
but also about why patients
often experience a wait time
while in the Emergency
Department.
“Once a patient is in our
Emergency Department,
the physician will often
order specific tests, such
as x-rays or lab work, to
diagnose the illness. These
Orthopedics
Melvin L.C. Fussell, MD
1011 North Houston Road
Warner Robins
478-923-4040
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2006 ♦
tests add time, sometimes
up to several hours, to the
overall visit,” explained
Karen Talton, RN, Nurse
Manager of Perry Hospital’s
Emergency Department.
“Certain treatments such as
suturing cuts, checking eye
injuries or inserting special
IV lines require additional
time as well as attention
from the physician and
Emergency Department
staff. When that happens,
other patients with less
serious symptoms have to
wait.”
Houston Healthcare oper
ates two urgent care centers
- Houston Lake Med-Stop
(located on Highway 127
at Moody Road) and the
Pavilion Med-Stop (located
at Houston Mall - both
staffed by a physician, reg
istered nurse and certified
medical assistants. Basic lab
and x-ray services are avail
able on-site. The Houston
Lake Med-Stop is open
Monday through Saturday
from 7 a.m. until 6:30 p.m.,
and the Pavilion Med-Stop
is open seven days per week
from 8 a.m. until 7:30 p.m.
“Our Emergency
Departments at Houston
Medical Center and Perry
Hospital are always open
and available to treat
patients 24 hours a day,
seven days per week, 365
days per year,” Darsey said.
“Our goal is to provide qual
ity patient care in the short
est time possible. We ask
that patients understand
that we must see patients
in the order of how critical
they are, and that we strive
to keep every patient’s wait
time as minimal as possi
ble.”
ENT
John J. Vecchio, MD
114 Hospital Drive
Warner Robins
478-929*1856
5A