Main: Medical assistant Sammie Saucedo, left, and physician's assistant Eileen Burke look over charts while
volunteering at the People's Health Clinic. Right: Saucedo takes a patient's blood pressure; Yolanda Carrera is
treated as she sits with her 3-year-old daughter, Angelica; a volunteer measures 8-year-old Luis Alvarez.

Volunteers provide free medical care for the uninsured

By TRACIE FAILS
Of the Record Staff

Doctor John Houchins, medical director of the physician assistant training program at the University of Utah, has already worked a full day by the time he arrives at the People's Health Clinic (PHC) in Park City. But he doesn't mind the drive up Parley's Canyon, and he certainly doesn't regret the time he spends there.

Sitting in the PHC volunteer lounge, which also serves as a makeshift doctors' office, he appears relaxed and purposeful. He easily explains what draws him to the clinic, which offers free medical care to people without health insurance in Wasatch and Summit Counties.

"Look at that man, sitting in that chair," he says, gesturing to a middle-aged patient waiting for a volunteer nurse to take his blood pressure. "He's the reason I come here. He has diabetes, heart disease, hypertension. And he keeps coming back. It may sound dramatic to say, but the care he gets here keeps him alive. He epitomizes the good that we do here. And that's why I come."

The bustling clinic operates Tuesday through Thursday with rotating doctors and a small office staff, all of whom are volunteers. Donations from community members and businesses, as well as city and county governments, cover expenses. Clinic director Andrew Sipherd says the community's generosity has allowed the clinic to prosper since its inception in 2000. To date, the clinic has cared for over 3,000 patients.

The business of health care

Running a free clinic differs from managing a traditional treatment center, says Sipherd, who previously headed a for-profit, urgent-care clinic. The shift has required some adjustment.

"The biggest thing for me is that you just wear a lot of different hats as a small nonprofit," he says.

Cecily Huff Smith, the clinic coordinator and former intensive care nurse, agrees.

"You can put nurse-slash-janitor next to me," she laughs. "We all pitch in with the little things."

Sipherd also notes that at a free clinic he can focus on patients rather than insurance companies.

"Spending time on patients and their care is new for me," he says. "Where I was, we were always collecting payment. Here everybody's getting free care. We just ask for a donation." However, Sipherd is still concerned about raising money. While care may be free to patients, the clinic must find a way to cover testing fees, equipment and operational costs.

"There's a lot of fund raising involved," he says. "But it's easier when you're asking people who want to contribute. People in Park City are very generous.We're just trying to make community members aware that we're here and also that we can always use in-kind donations as well."

Some contributions, such as equipment and lab processing services require a position in the medical field - LabCorps, for example, provides much of the testing - but Sipherd emphasizes that the donation with the biggest impact is, simply, time.

"Our volunteers keep this place alive," he says. "Without them we don't have a clinic." PHC needs volunteers in a range of fields, including basic medical services, translating, office work and public relations.

"There's something for anyone to do," Smith adds. "Volunteers don't need medical experience."

Contributing to the clinic

Sammie Soucedo, a medical assistant and one of the clinic's most consistent volunteers, describes working with PHC as a blessing.

"I love coming here," she says. "I find that people aren't out to make a buck, so they're more thoughtful, more giving. When you have to make a living at something, you cut your time."

She also appreciates the opportunity for personal growth and the cooperative environment.

"I like that I can continue my skills here. I'm not compartmentalized. Everything I have learned as a medical assistant or with Spanish, I can use here. I'm also not in competition with anyone else. Everybody is doing the best they can."

Sarah Klingenstein, a translator, started volunteering after learning to speak Spanish just a few years ago.

"I'd been watching the clinic since it started, and I got to thinking, 'What can I do?' I have no medical background, so I thought maybe I could use Spanish."

She says volunteers should not be intimidated by limited knowledge of the language.

"I think one of the biggest lessons I've learned doing this is that you don't have to be fluent to help. You find a way to communicate with a little effort."

As a former teacher, Klingenstein says she also realized that education is as important to healing for many patients as the medical treatment itself.

"Maybe that's what draws me to continue with this," she speculates. "There's something about knowing that what I'm telling them will contribute to their continued health that's very satisfying."

Houchins advocates volunteering at the clinic to his physician assistant students as a way to gain an element of international experience from the clinic's significant Latino base, and the foreign patients who come in from across the globe during the ski season.

"We all learn a lot by getting out of our comfort zones," he says. "I encourage international rotations for my students to get into a different physical space. If you do nothing but practice with mainstream America, you get out of touch."

Who benefits

While Dr. Houchins stresses the international aspect of PHC patients to his students, he is quick to point out that the clinic's overall patient base varies widely in ethnicity, age and even economic position.

"We're all very close to the uninsured," he points out. "Any of us can become health care destitute."

Smith adds that the outward financial situation for some patients may not accurately reflect their ability to become insured.

"We have a lot of people in that gray area before they turn 65, where maybe they can't work or maybe they have jobs but don't have benefits or can't get insurance for some reason. We also get seasonal workers who may work three or four jobs, but none of their employers offer insurance."

'Patty' (name changed to protect patient's privacy), a 63-year-old retiree, had a difficult time becoming insured because she takes med ication for a sleeping disorder. She thought she could hang on until she qualified for Medicare; but when she began experiencing symptoms related to heart failure, her family began to worry.

"I'd never been sick," she says. "I figured I could just wait it out. But my mother died from heart failure and, she had the same things I had, so that's what got my family all excited. They just said, 'You have to go. We'll figure out how to pay for it later.'"

But with costs rising into the thousands, coming up with the money became increasingly difficult. Then Dr. Julie Dolan of Park City told her about PHC.

"I had never heard of it before," Patty says. "I was very impressed with them when I went. [The doctors and staff] were so thorough." She added that she recognizes the work that goes into running the clinic and tries to contribute what she can.

"It's hard on them," she says. "How the doctors donate their time like they do, they're little angels. I made donations every time I went up. I hope I can do more."

Patty has now obtained insurance that covers most of her expenses, but she admits she doesn't know what she would have done without PHC.

"I didn't think of it until I got sick, but not having insurance can wipe you out. When you need help, [regular clinics] can't turn you away - but they can take everything you have."

Sipherd points out that the benefits the People's Health Clinic also extend beyond patients.

"When people have nowhere to go, they go to the emergency room," he says. "And if they can't pay, somewhere it has to be compensated. Someone has to pay for the expenses the hospital writes off, so insurance goes up for everyone."

Growth for the clinic

When PHC began seven years ago, providers served patients from a van, volunteer nurse Eileen Burke remembers.

"People would just form a line outside. Even two or three years ago we didn't have the lab capability we do today," she says.

Now, the clinic is nestled discreetly among buildings at the Iron Horse plaza. A receptionist, often a bilingual volunteer, greets patients at a waiting room. A screening room, private exam rooms and communal doctor's office/volunteer lounge comprise the rest of the clinic. A large donor board reminds everyone of the community effort in keeping the clinic alive.

Sipherd hopes to continue fundraising efforts to expand the clinic as more people become aware of its benefits.

"I hope to get the word out that we're here to help people not just in Park City, but across Summit and Wasatch Counties."

The People's Health Clinic operates Tuesday through Thursday beginning at 5 p.m. at 1200 C Iron Horse Drive.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 615-7822. Volunteers can sign up at www.peopleshealthclinic.org.