After Barbara Quinn, a 72-year-old registered nurse, retired from the Castro-Mission Health Center last year, she considered various volunteer opportunities until she realized she couldn't imagine doing anything that didn't involve nursing. So she teamed up with Clinic by the Bay, a free clinic that opens today to serve uninsured residents in the Excelsior and Outer Mission neighborhoods and parts of Daly City
It is the first clinic in Northern California and the 82nd nationally to be affiliated with Volunteers in Medicine, a 16-year-old organization started by a retired doctor in Hilton Head, S.C. The organization creates clinics staffed primarily by retired doctors, nurses, physical therapists and others who provide free care to the underserved.
"People who are our age want to work in a field in which we're comfortable and can contribute. Today's retirees don't want to seal envelopes," Quinn said. Clinic by the Bay has been in the works for years. Local small-business leader Scott Hauge first heard about Volunteers in Medicine 12 years ago and started working with the San Francisco Public Health Department and other groups to try to bring the concept to San Francisco.
"I fell in love with the model: health care serving the uninsured run by retired doctors and nurses," said Janet Reilly, president of the clinic's board of directors, who joined the effort to create the clinic about four years ago. She added that many volunteer health opportunities involve international travel, which may not appeal to some retirees.
The clinic's director, Eliza Gibson, estimated Clinic by the Bay will complete 2,100 visits serving about 1,400 patients in the first full year of operations. The plan is to grow, eventually running full time and expanding its providers. So far, the clinic has recruited about 10 doctors, one physical therapist and a dozen nurses, and can see about 100 patients a month.
Gibson said the clinic's target population is the working uninsured, adults who make too much money to qualify for government programs.
As per the Volunteers in Medicine model, office visits are 45 minutes long, something that will not change even when the clinic grows in size. "We get to ask the open-ended question: What can we do for you today?" said Dr. Mary Ann Miner, the clinic's medical director, who retired from Kaiser's Redwood City hospital seven years ago at age 60.
Patients were grateful for the care and didn't even seem to notice their caregivers may be a little grayer than usual. Alfredo Porras, 36, came for his third appointment at the clinic last week to check on his asthma medication. Porras, who was laid off last year and lost his insurance, said he's been impressed by the clinic staff. "I was amazed that the people here are donating their time," he said.
Porras, who also has visited the clinic for physical therapy, said he also appreciated the longer appointment times. "It really made me feel more in touch with the staff," he said. "They really seem to care."
Source Article - sfgate.com
It is the first clinic in Northern California and the 82nd nationally to be affiliated with Volunteers in Medicine, a 16-year-old organization started by a retired doctor in Hilton Head, S.C. The organization creates clinics staffed primarily by retired doctors, nurses, physical therapists and others who provide free care to the underserved.
"People who are our age want to work in a field in which we're comfortable and can contribute. Today's retirees don't want to seal envelopes," Quinn said. Clinic by the Bay has been in the works for years. Local small-business leader Scott Hauge first heard about Volunteers in Medicine 12 years ago and started working with the San Francisco Public Health Department and other groups to try to bring the concept to San Francisco.
"I fell in love with the model: health care serving the uninsured run by retired doctors and nurses," said Janet Reilly, president of the clinic's board of directors, who joined the effort to create the clinic about four years ago. She added that many volunteer health opportunities involve international travel, which may not appeal to some retirees.
The clinic's director, Eliza Gibson, estimated Clinic by the Bay will complete 2,100 visits serving about 1,400 patients in the first full year of operations. The plan is to grow, eventually running full time and expanding its providers. So far, the clinic has recruited about 10 doctors, one physical therapist and a dozen nurses, and can see about 100 patients a month.
Gibson said the clinic's target population is the working uninsured, adults who make too much money to qualify for government programs.
As per the Volunteers in Medicine model, office visits are 45 minutes long, something that will not change even when the clinic grows in size. "We get to ask the open-ended question: What can we do for you today?" said Dr. Mary Ann Miner, the clinic's medical director, who retired from Kaiser's Redwood City hospital seven years ago at age 60.
Patients were grateful for the care and didn't even seem to notice their caregivers may be a little grayer than usual. Alfredo Porras, 36, came for his third appointment at the clinic last week to check on his asthma medication. Porras, who was laid off last year and lost his insurance, said he's been impressed by the clinic staff. "I was amazed that the people here are donating their time," he said.
Porras, who also has visited the clinic for physical therapy, said he also appreciated the longer appointment times. "It really made me feel more in touch with the staff," he said. "They really seem to care."
Source Article - sfgate.com
