With all the interest in the global impact of the Catholic Church through the election of a new Pope, we need to remember the local impact of the work of good lay people, formed by the Catholic Church.
Here is a good example.
I have gotten to know a small clinic in the Diocese of Madison.
Here is some information about them.
In a time of such great change and uncertainty about health care and health insurance, when big government may make a complete nightmare out of health care, it could be that this model will be of use in the future.
In centuries past, the Catholic Church – especially in the form of small lay groups such as the confraternities which rose up after the Council of Trent to perform spiritual and corporal works of mercy – was a great provider of services. The government is taking over everything now. When that whole thing collapses, what will be left? We might need old/new models.
Here is information sent to me by …
Our Lady of Hope Clinic, located in Madison, provides 100% pro-life primary care to all patients; and free care to the community’s uninsured population. The Clinic, the only one of its kind in the State, is based on St. Luke’s Family Practice in Modesto, CA. Our Lady of Hope Clinic is primarily funded by benefactor patients who pay a modest annual fee for concierge medicine. Their fee entitles our benefactors to direct access to a personal physician, Dr. Michael Kloess, twenty-four hours a day, seven days each week, as well as additional benefits. More importantly, because benefactors pay an annual fee for unlimited medical care, Our Lady of Hope Clinic does not bill insurance providers. Our patients and our medical provider are empowered to make important medical decisions, not a representative of an insurance company. The benefactor fees are then available to support the Clinic’s philanthropic mission of treating uninsured individuals free of charge.
According to Kaiser State Health Facts 2010 report, 9% of the Wisconsin population has no health insurance, and 5% of Wisconsin’s children are uninsured. In just under four years, the number of uninsured recipients seen at the Clinic has increased from an average of 2 patients per day in the first six months of operation, to an average of greater than 6/7 patients per day in the winter of 2012/3. Since we opened, Our Lady of Hope Clinic has provided nearly 2,500 free Clinic visits to uninsured members of the community who would not otherwise had access to a doctor.
Although the majority of our recipients come from the Dane County area, we have provided free medical care to people from as far away as Appleton, Milwaukee, La Crosse, and Green Bay. Because Our Lady of Hope Clinic is the only Clinic of its kind in the State, recipients are willing to travel to Madison from across Wisconsin to access the free healthcare we provide. While our healthcare professionals at the Clinic strive to treat every uninsured person who walks through the doors; we are, unfortunately, not always able to do so. Occasionally we forced to ask some would-be patients to return to the Clinic on another day due to our physician-patient load limitations. However, unlike most free and reduced-fee clinics in the area, Our Lady of Hope Clinic is unique in that we offer walk-in appointment times for our recipients, four days a week; effectively eliminating the need for those without insurance to wait months, or longer, to see a doctor.
Because Dr. Kloess, a family practitioner, practices medicine that is consistent with the Catholic healthcare tradition, patients know upfront where he stands on issues of medical ethics. Dr. Kloess does not provide or refer for abortion, sterilization, euthanasia, in vitro fertilization, or write prescriptions for contraception. But at Our Lady of Hope Clinic, we know that building a Culture of Life isn’t just about what we don’t do. Dr. Kloess helps empower married couples to achieve or postpone pregnancy naturally by offering natural family planning medical consultations and NaProTECHNOLOGY services.
For more information about Our Lady of Hope Clinic, please visit our website at www.ourladyofhopeclinic.org, or contact Julie Jensen, Director of Development, at Julie -AT- ourladyofhopeclinic -DOT- org, or by calling (608) 957-1137.
