Numbers Soar at Volunteers in Medicine (2002)

Patient numbers at Volunteers in Medicine soar

By David Jakubiak

Originally appeared in The Island Packet on 03/31/2002

The number of patients seen at the Volunteers in Medicine Clinic has jumped by more than 40 percent since 1999, a clinic official said this past week, an increase she attributes to a weakened economy and a growing work force of under-insured employees.

Anne Finn, the clinic's spokeswoman and director of development, said the clinic now sees about 500 patients a week, up from about 145 patients a week during the clinic's first full year in 1995, and up from
about 385 a week last year.

With the increase, she said, the clinic is facing new challenges ranging from a need for more health care providers and space for exam rooms to fostering communication between doctors and patients.

Finn estimates the clinic will treat 25,000 people in 2002. Between 1995 and 1997, the clinic treated 25,500 people. In fact, Finn estimates the clinic will treat its 100,000th patient by the end of April. "I didn't think we'd do that until at least July, and then I looked at our most recent numbers," she said this past week.

Dr. Sherman Gans, a dentist who has been with the clinic for several years, listed three reasons for the growth: The success of the clinic has led to increased participation in the clinic by the community. The growth of Hilton Head and Daufuskie islands has led to increased demand for low-wage, limited benefit labor, and the success of the clinic's public education programs has people seeking care.

Finn attributed much of the increased demand on the clinic to the weakened economy. In an effort to save money, she said, many area businesses are either eliminating health care benefits or increasing the amount of money employees put into their health insurance.

"It is getting to the point where some people are being asked to put up to 30 percent of their check into health insurance. That is a lot to ask of someone who is trying to put food on the table and take care of a family," she said.

Bill Miles, president of the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce, said companies asking their employees to increase their insurance payments is a trend not only in the Lowcountry, but across the nation. "Businesses are trying to shift costs, in part to cope with increasing insurance costs," Miles said. "One way they are doing that is having employees pay a larger share of their insurance costs." 

However, Miles said he was unaware of specific businesses on Hilton Head that were requiring increased insurance payments of their employees.

Finn indicated that many people are unable to pay increased insurance costs and therefore wind up at the Volunteers in Medicine Clinic, which provides free medical, dental and mental health services to people who live or work on Hilton Head or Daufuskie islands and do not have health insurance or cannot afford such care.

NEW CHALLENGES

As the clinic grows, Finn said, it faces new challenges.

For example, she said many of the new patients of the clinic are Hispanic and do not speak English.

While he could not offer hard data, Gans said the number of Hispanic patients at the clinic is now five times what it was four years ago. He estimated up to 70 percent of the patients seen are Hispanic.

"We have a definite need for translators," Finn said. However, she acknowledged that it is difficult for the clinic to gauge when exactly a translator will be needed. Because the clinic is a walk-in facility, some days may require five translators while others may require only one.

In addition, she said, more patients mean more resources are needed by the clinic.

Dr. Oliver Crawford, who has volunteered at the clinic since its inception, said this demand for resources ranges from doctors, nurses and other health care providers, to space for things like exam rooms and pharmaceuticals.

"It is almost getting to the point where we are busting at the seams," he said.

MONEY CRUNCH?

Finn said that while the clinic successfully raised $5 million for an endowment in 2000, it is now trying to raise another $5 million for that fund.

She said the clinic has enough money now to provide for its patients, but could run into a crunch
in the future if the demand continues to grow. She said the endowment campaign's active drive has been slowed in recent years as the shift at the clinic has gone toward soliciting funds for day-to-day operations.

Crawford said part of the crowding at the clinic is a direct reflection on the success of the facility.

"This points out the need for an institution such as ours," he said. "It emphasizes the cultural sophistication of Hilton Head to be able to support us. And it also emphasizes that although we tend to think of this as an affluent community, it is not always quite as affluent as we suppose."