Free Clinics

Free Clinics

Free medical clinic fills need for uninsured

Physicians focus on common problems, prevention

By Michael P. McConnell
Published in Daily Tribune: April 13, 2006

Sponsored by the Michigan Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, the clinic is run in space donated by Dr. Pramod Raval at his office at 24661 Coolidge.

State Rep. Andrew Meisner, D-Ferndale, was at the clinic Wednesday with Dr. Chandrika Joshi, MAPI president, to highlight the free medical services.

"MAPI answered a call to action to help us strengthen our social safety net as we face state and federal budget deficits," Meisner said.

In Michigan it is estimated that more than 15 percent of adults and almost 10 percent of children have no medical insurance, he added.

The MAPI charitable clinic in Oak Park is by appointment and began in May 2005. A second clinic is open on Saturday mornings Downriver in Taylor.

Most patients learn of the clinics through word-of-mouth and references from four health fairs MAPI conducts in southeast Michigan each year, Joshi said.

The Oak Park clinic is backed by Providence Hospital. One woman who recently came to the free clinic had a tumor removed at a reduced rate at the hospital, Joshi said.

Meisner applauds the work at the clinic as an example of what can be done when the private and non-profit sector steps in to meet the lack of medical treatment for many uninsured patients in an emerging national health-care crisis. "It is saving us money," Meisner said.

For MAPI, however, the mission is focused on prevention. "For us it is saving lives and improving the quality of life" for patients, Joshi said.

The Oak Park clinic draws on more than 25 physician volunteers who see patients on a rotating basis.

Joshi said the idea for free clinics came from what MAPI doctors saw when they offered several health fairs each year at hospitals or places of worship.

"We started seeing all these uninsured people," she said. "They often had high levels of cholesterol and diabetes and then we realized they had no where to go" for treatment.

The clinic is for people who have no medical insurance and don't qualify for government medical assistance.

A person living alone must earn less than $9,310 a year, or $18,850 for a four-person household, to qualify for the free clinic.

To contact the MAPI Charitable Clinic for an appointment call 248-914-8579.

Oak Park clinic serves the uninsured

By Kim Kozlowski
Published by The Detroit News: May 5, 2006

OAK PARK -- When Julie McCann lost her job in January, she had just learned of a possible heart blockage and was terrified about losing her health insurance
The Redford Township woman paid $312 a month to continue her coverage, but she had to drop it after two months because it was too expensive -- especially without a job.

Luckily, McCann found a free health clinic that is open one afternoon a week in Oak Park.

It is for uninsured adults who do not qualify for government medical assistance and this is the second free clinic opened by the Michigan Association of Physicians from India, which has been operating a free clinic in Taylor since 1998.

Known as the MAPI Charitable Clinic, the Oak Park location adds another much-needed site to address the health care needs of Michigan's adults who are uninsured, estimated by state officials at 1.1 million.

"The need is there all over," said Chandrika Joshi, a gynecologist and president of MAPI. "Anybody who qualifies should take advantage of this if they need it."

The doctors focus on treating people with high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma, arthritis and other common ailments. They do not provide emergency care, immunizations, pregnancy care or mental health care, and they do not treat children because they qualify for government-provided health insurance.
Patients must make appointments to go to the clinic, which is staffed by several local Indian doctors who take turns volunteering at the office of Pramod Raval, one of the doctors on the volunteer roster.

Novi resident Janet Rogoff hadn't been to a doctor in two years because she works full time in sales but doesn't receive health insurance through her employer. She heard about the free clinic at a health fair that was put on by the Indian doctors. She has since been there three times to cope with a fungus and high cholesterol.
Eva Lopatin's husband was laid off from his job and they don't have health insurance. A friend told her about the free clinic, so she went there to get help with her arthritis and high blood pressure.

"This has helped so much," said Lopatin of Farmington Hills.

The doctors also host three health fairs throughout the region to screen people for diabetes, high blood pressure, prostate cancer and osteoporosis.

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