Doctors at Crystal Lake clinic provide free care
With Doctors’ Appreciation Day taking place at the end of March, Suzanne Hoban, the executive director of the Family Health Partnership Clinic in Crystal Lake, commented that there are 29 “special” doctors on staff.
This is because they either do not charge anything for their services, or charge very small amounts. They treat patients who are uninsured and, by doing so, help the clinic service the community.
The doctors have various reasons for volunteering. The clinic’s medical director is Dr. Jim Mowery, an internist who is now retired from Centegra Health System. He works pro bono because he finds it a “travesty” that people cannot afford the medical help they need because they cannot pay for the insurance, or have no access to it.
Others work at the clinic because they feel they can practice true medicine there, without having to deal with HMOs or insurance companies. Since the patients are uninsured, no outside companies get involved, and everyone gets cared for. Other doctors describe the clinic as “well run” and having “patient-oriented” qualities that can sometimes seem lacking in the massive systems that comprise the healthcare industry.
The clinic sees approximately 2,500 patients annually, and relies extensively on the volunteer physicians to provide at the minimum possible costs.
Clinic staff might consider working with a banner printing company on a fun banner to display in the lobby, thanking the volunteer doctors for their work.
This is because they either do not charge anything for their services, or charge very small amounts. They treat patients who are uninsured and, by doing so, help the clinic service the community.
The doctors have various reasons for volunteering. The clinic’s medical director is Dr. Jim Mowery, an internist who is now retired from Centegra Health System. He works pro bono because he finds it a “travesty” that people cannot afford the medical help they need because they cannot pay for the insurance, or have no access to it.
Others work at the clinic because they feel they can practice true medicine there, without having to deal with HMOs or insurance companies. Since the patients are uninsured, no outside companies get involved, and everyone gets cared for. Other doctors describe the clinic as “well run” and having “patient-oriented” qualities that can sometimes seem lacking in the massive systems that comprise the healthcare industry.
The clinic sees approximately 2,500 patients annually, and relies extensively on the volunteer physicians to provide at the minimum possible costs.
Clinic staff might consider working with a banner printing company on a fun banner to display in the lobby, thanking the volunteer doctors for their work.