CLINICS EXTEND MEDICAL HELP TO PEOPLE IN NEED

A shortage of primary care physicians has forced waiting lists at a number of doctor offices in the region. Especially hard hit are the poor and elderly served through Medicaid and Medicare, respectively.

Two Cape Girardeau clinics are successfully working to extend health care to those with little or no medical access. The Sprigg Street Medical Center and Cape Girardeau County Health Department's Primary Care Clinic are filling a tangible medical void in the community.

The Sprigg Street Medical Center spearheaded by retired physician William O.L. Seabaugh has averaged about 500 office visits each month since opening in late September. Through February, they had racked up 2,608 visits. About 70 percent of those patients were from Cape Girardeau.

As its primary focus are Medicare and Medicaid patients. In the past, many of these patients had no choice but to seek care in hospital emergency rooms. About 40 percent of patients are Medicare, 40 percent Medicaid, and another 20 percent are those who have found themselves without a doctor for some reason or another.

Three physicians are working with the clinic on a part-time basis as well as volunteer nurses at 24 N. Sprigg. Seabaugh hopes to expand the services of the not-for-profit clinic with more donated time by area physicians. The clinic is open five mornings and three afternoons each week.

The clinic operates through patient fees and government reimbursements. Community support will also be a key to its continued success.

While the Sprigg Street Medical Center focuses on adult care, the children with medical needs can find help at the Cape Girardeau County Health Department's Primary Care Clinic. Since its opening in early November, the clinic has treated more than 600 different children in Cape Girardeau and Bollinger counties. In all, the clinic has registered 1,017 visits.

Its patients are children 2 weeks to 18 years of age, whose parents are receiving Medicaid or earn 133 percent of the poverty level income. A nurse practioner and two registered nurses treat acute minor illnesses as well as perform preventive care. Fifteen local doctors have signed standing orders to the clinic for consultations or referrals of more serious cases.

A five-year grant from the Missouri Department of Health has enabled this primary care clinic to take wing. Medicaid payments and some federal money will augment the budget, along with community support.

These clinics are helping the region take care of its own as opposed to expensive national health care reform. But the clinics can't do their work alone; support from the medical community and community at large remains vital to both clinics.

The impact of this physician shortage impacts patients two-fold. Some families without doctors seek treatment for minor illnesses in hospital emergency rooms - overloading trauma center staffs with non-emergencies. Other people may put off treatment of minor ailments so long that they become major health problems - complicating treatment. These clinics address both these medical needs - while treating people with compassion and fiscal fairness.